The dark side of the moon

Abstract

Objective: The belief that the full moon and disturbed behaviour are closely linked is alive and well, despite studies to the contrary. We investigated the possibility that there is an association between only extreme behavioural disturbance and the full moon. Design, setting and participants: We undertook an observational study of patients with violent and acute behavioural disturbance who presented to the emergency department of Calvary Mater Newcastle and patients with less severe behaviour for whom hospital security calls were made. Main outcome measure: Proportion of patients for whom presentation or security call occurred in each lunar phase, modelled as a Poisson process. Results: Of 91 patients with violent and acute behavioural disturbance, 21 (23%) presented during the full moon — double the number for other lunar phases (P = 0.002). Sixty (66%) had either alcohol intoxication or psychostimulant toxicity, and five attacked staff (biting [2], spitting [1], kicking [1] and scratching [1]). In contrast, 512 hospital security calls for patients with less severe behaviour were evenly distributed throughout the lunar cycle. Conclusion: Violent and acute behavioural disturbance manifested more commonly during the full moon.

Review article: Workplace violence in the emergency department: A systematic review and meta analysis

“…Both are supported by Medley et al ., who found most incidents occurred during the night shift . Calver demonstrated that the number of violent episodes doubled during full moon days in comparison to days of other lunar phases . While Downes et al .…”

Pediatric Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits During a Full Moon

“…One farfetched study by Lieber and Agel 24 suggested that because the moon affects large bodies of water such as the ocean (a phenomenon known as "tidal force"), the moon should be expected to have an analogous effect on human beings, whose bodies contain a great deal of water. 30 Unfortunately, their results could not be reproduced. Unfortunately for this theory, higher tides do not occur only during the full moon but approximately twice a month, around the new moon and the full moon due to the alignment of the sun, moon, and earth.…”

Impact of lunar phase on outcomes following ST‐elevation myocardial infarction

“…This is the largest study incorporating a diverse STEMI population over a 12‐year study period to analyse the incidence of STEMI cases undergoing primary or rescue PCI across eight lunar phases. The impact of lunar phase on human behaviour has been extensively documented . Many believe in the effect of the moon and lunar cycle on health and human behaviour .…”

“…The impact of lunar phase on human behaviour has been extensively documented . Many believe in the effect of the moon and lunar cycle on health and human behaviour . More recently, studies investigating the occurrence of adverse health conditions according to lunar phases suggest a possible correlation; however, this has been variable and has been more frequently linked to the new moon phase …”

“…The influence of lunar phases, particularly the full moon phase, on extremes of health and human behaviour has been extensively studied . It has been established that there is an association between the full moon phase and acute behavioural disturbance .…”