Lunar cycle in homicides: a population-based time series study in Finland

Synodic lunar phases and suicide: based on 2605 suicides over 23 years, a full moon peak is apparent in premenopausal women from northern Finland

Suicide data for this study were available for the period of March 1988 to June 2011, and involved 2111 male and 494 female victims from the Finnish province of Oulu. Data for lunar phases during that period were categorised into three groups: new moon (<25% visible), full moon (>75% visible) and other times with values in between. Seasonal effects were controlled with definitions for winter (Nov, Dec, Jan), spring (Feb, Mar, Apr), summer (May, June, July), and autumn (Aug, Sep, Oct). Suicide occurrences during different lunar phases were compared with their expected distribution using multinomial tests with all tests being two-tailed. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. No correlation between suicides and moon phase in any of the four seasons was apparent for male victims, but in winter for women it was (p = 0.001). Further analysis of the data revealed that the full moon association was statistically significant only for premenopausal women, defined as female victims younger than 45 years of age. To explain this unexpected finding a number of factors were considered, e.g., the darkness of a northern Finnish winter with increases of SAD and depression especially in premenopausal women, the influence of the lunar periodicity on the menstrual cycle, and cosmogeophysical effects on the humoral and autonomous nervous system.

Using Weather, Lunar Cycles, and Time of Year to Predict Trauma Incidents in an Urban, Level I Pediatric Trauma Center

BACKGROUND

Trauma patterns in adults are influenced by weather conditions, lunar phases, and time of year. The extent to which these factors contribute to pediatric trauma is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to review patients from a single Level I pediatric trauma center to determine the influence of weather, the lunar cycle, and time of year on trauma activity.

METHODS

A retrospective review of trauma activations (n = 1,932) was conducted from 2015 to 2017. Injury type and general demographics were collected. Weather data and lunar cycles were derived from historical databases.

RESULTS

Days with no precipitation increased the total number of injuries of all types compared with those with precipitation (p < .001). Blunt and penetrating injuries were more likely to occur during full moons, whereas burn injuries were significantly higher during new moons (p < .001). Blunt trauma was significantly higher in September than all other months, F(11, 1,921) = 4.25, p < .001, whereas January had a significantly higher number of burns than all other months (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric trauma trends associated with external factors such as weather, lunar cycles, and time of year can inform hospital staffing decisions in anticipation of likely injuries and help direct injury prevention efforts.

Full Moon and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Japan - Population-Based, Double-Controlled Case Series Analysis

Background: It is commonly believed that a full moon affects human behavior or the occurrence and outcome of various diseases; thus, the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) might increase during full moon nights.

Methods and Results: This nationwide, population-based observational study consecutively enrolled OHCA patients in Japan with attempted resuscitation between 2005 and 2016. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of OHCA. Based on the double-control method, assuming Poisson sampling, we evaluated the average number of OHCA events that occurred on full moon nights compared with that which occurred on control nights, which included events that occurred on the same calendar days 1 week before and after the full moon nights. A total of 29,552 OHCA that occurred on 148 full moon nights and 58,707 OHCA that occurred on 296 control nights were eligible for analysis. The occurrence of OHCA did not differ between full moon and control nights (199.7 vs. 198.3 per night; relative risk [RR], 1.007; 95% CI: 0.993–1.021). On subgroup analysis, compared with control nights, the RR of OHCA occurrence were 1.013 (95% CI: 0.994–1.032, P=0.166) and 0.998 (95% CI: 0.977–1.020, P=0.866) for cardiac and non-cardiac origins, respectively.

Conclusions: In this population, there was no significant difference in OHCA occurrence between full moon and control nights.