Does lunar cycle influence suicide attempts?

Abstract

Aim: Suicide is when a person intentionally ends his or her own life. Today, it is considered a global concern. It is important to address the underlying causes leading to suicides. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the lunar cycle and suicide attempts. Material and Method: This multicenter study was done retrospectively between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. The records of patients who presented to emergency departments (EDs) with attempted suicide at nine different hospitals across the country were evaluated retrospectively. The lunar phases of the days when patients presented to the hospitals were also evaluated. Results: As determined by an investigation of the days of presentation of the 5,647 patients who were investigated, 25.28% of the patients presented during the first quarter, 25.71% during the full moon, 25.03% during the last quarter, and 23.68% during the new moon. There is, therefore, no significant difference observed between the lunar phases and suicidal attempts (P <0.05). Discussion: The results of the present study and the literature findings do not support the hypothesis of the lunar cycle having any effect on suicide attempts.

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

“…A very recent investigation poses the question "Does [the] lunar cycle influence suicide attempts?" and having examined 5647 attempted suicides in Turkey the authors also conclude that their own study and the earlier literature on the subject does not support the hypothesis of the lunar cycle having any effect on suicide attempts [26].…”

“…Scrutinising 3054 suicides (1949 males and 1105 females) in Middle Franconia between 1998 and 2003 for which complete data were available, it was concluded that no relationship existed between suicides and lunar phases [ 11 ], confirming an earlier review based on 20 studies [ 8 ]. A very recent investigation poses the question “Does [the] lunar cycle influence suicide attempts?” and having examined 5647 attempted suicides in Turkey the authors also conclude that their own study and the earlier literature on the subject does not support the hypothesis of the lunar cycle having any effect on suicide attempts [ 26 ].…”