Resource Tag: MOON

Popular culture and medical lore have long postulated a connection between full moon and exacerbations of psychiatric disorders. We wanted to empirically analyze the hypothesis that suicides are increased during the period around full  moons. We analyzed pre-COVID suicides from the Marion County Coroner’s Office (n = 776), and show that deaths by suicide are […]

Available evidence suggests that there is no effect of moon phases on suicidal behavior. However, a Finnish study recently reported elevated suicide rates during full-moon, but only among premenopausal women and only in winter. This could not be replicated in an Austrian study and stirred a discussion about whether the Finnish finding was false-positive or […]

This study investigated whether the moon effect might increase incidence of injuries & patient admissions to emergency rooms on full moon days. During 13 months, 58,000 trauma patients admitted in 3 hospitals in Tehran were studied, with 54,457 cases in the final sample. The number of trauma patients did not increase during the full moon […]

The existence of lunar influence on the frequency of suicide was tested by means of a permutation test. A total of 897 suicides reported by the Anatomical Forensic Institute of Madrid were analyzed by a permutation test, a direct application of Fisher’s ideas. Noteworthy in this study were the testing method used & the accuracy […]

This study responds to the question of whether the moon can influence daily levels of stress. 4 years of telephone-call frequency data were obtained from a single crisis-call centre & analysed. An increase in calls was recorded from females & a decrease in calls by males during the new moon period, & there were proportionally […]

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Data on self inflicted injuries by poisoning in the Winnipeg, Canada area were compared to the lunar cycle. A statistically significant lunar periodicity was demonstrated for the females in the sample with a greater number of cases occurring during the first quarter & a smaller number occurring during the third quarter of the lunar cycle. […]

Analyzed a small but complete & very homogeneous sample of suicides which occurred in the Mountain District of the Metauro River Valley in Italy in the period 1960-1994. A recent circular statistics technique, the “maximization of mean vector length” was used. No significant weekly & lunar patterns were found, but significant seasonal & intraseasonal cycles, […]

This study was conducted in order to determine temporal variation in telephonic service utilization in a crisis intervention centre as well as its relationship to environmental factors. Before and after weekends or public holidays, there was no significant increase in telephone calls. There was almost no assocation between number of telephone calls & atmospheric pressure, […]

20 studies which have examined the relations between completed, attempted or threatened suicide with the synodic lunar cycle are reviewed. Most studies indicated no relation between lunar phase & the measures of suicide. Positive findings conflicted, have not been replicated, or were confounded with variables such as season, weekday, weather or holidays. It is concluded […]

This study examines suicide occurrence among residents of Sacramento County, CA, from 1925 to 1983. Suicide occurence varied substantially by time of day. For both sexes & ages under 65 years, the fewest suicide deaths occurred during the early morning hours from 4:00 to 8:00. For the more recent years of the study, suicides occurred […]

An analysis of 383 cases of attempted suicide presented to the Accident & Emergency Department of a large urban hospital in England during 12 complete lunar cycles (1989), gave no support for an association between attempted suicide & the lunar cycle, especially the full moon. No control for weekends or holidays was made. (13 refs.)

During 1980 the relationship between the moon phases and 1187 cases of self-poisoning in Oslo was studied. In contrast to a previous report from India, no significant correlation was found between the full moon and self-poisonings. In Western countries the aetiology of self-poisoning is too complex to be explained by speculative “human tidal waves”.

Suicidologists have tried to test the possibilities for relationships between the occurrence of suicide & temporal or meteorological variables. An examination of this research reveals that weather, holidays, moon phases & sunspots do not seem related to the suicide rate. Some seasonal variation seems possible, & a relationship to the time of day seems fairly […]

This study examines lunar influence on various demonstrations of emotional crises. Data was gathered from several sources: suicide statistics from the Kalamazoo Country Health Department, County Police, and suicidal calls to a crisis line. Statistical analysis of this data is examined. Findings during different phases of the moon are discussed. Generally, no significant correlations were […]

In this study of all of the violent deaths in the US over 2 years, clear monthly & daily variations were found. Suicide peaked in the Spring & Fall; homicide in July & December. Suicide was more common on Mondays; homicide on Saturdays & Sundays. Homicide was more common on national holidays, while suicide tended […]

Data for this study was drawn from all psychiatric admissions to a 400-bed psychiatric unit of a large Texas V.A. General Hospital for the years 1959-61 (N=4937) each admission daywas assigned the appropiate moon phase. Analysis of resultant data indicated that while some weekly cycling was observed, the significant relationship between admissions & lunar phase […]

Suicides in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, for 1972-1975 are tabulated by year, month of year, day of week, lunar phase, & holiday occurrence. Only lunar phase demonstrates a significant (p

Studied 18 male & 66 female subjects who were seen at a casualty department at a large hospital suffering from self-inflicted injuries. Suicide attempts were tabulated by sex & moon phase. There were no significant differences between phases with the exception of the female sample: there were more suicide attempts than predicted for the females […]

Empirical literature is reviewed that addresses the belief in a relationship between phases of the moon & human behaviour. Studies are examined relating lunar phase to psychiatric hospital admissions, suicides, and homicides. It is concluded that lunar phase is not related to human behavior & that the few positive findings are examples of a Type […]

Reviews research on the possible correlation between aggressive and suicidal behaviours and environmental factors such as lunar phases, month of birth, climate, crowding, and chemicals such as addictive drugs, alcohol, and industrial pollutants. Although some of these factors are essentially uncontrollable, their study may be useful to law enforcement personnel, teachers, and psychiatrists in predicting […]