The full moon and motorcycle related mortality: population based double control study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo test whether a full moon contributes to motorcycle related deaths.DesignPopulation based, individual level, double control, cross sectional analysis.SettingNighttime (4 pm to 8 am), United States.Participants13 029 motorcycle fatalities throughout the United States, 1975 to 2014 (40 years).Main outcome measureMotorcycle fatalities during a full moon.Results13 029 motorcyclists were in fatal crashes during 1482 relevant nights. The typical motorcyclist was a middle aged man (mean age 32 years) riding a street motorcycle with a large engine in a rural location who experienced a head-on frontal impact and was not wearing a helmet. 4494 fatal crashes occurred on the 494 nights with a full moon (9.10/night) and 8535 on the 988 control nights without a full moon (8.64/night). Comparisons yielded a relative risk of 1.05 associated with the full moon (95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.09, P=0.005), a conditional odds ratio of 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.37, P<0.001), and an absolute increase of 226 additional deaths over the study interval. The increase extended to diverse types of motorcyclists, vehicles, and crashes; was accentuated during a supermoon; and replicated in analyses from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.ConclusionThe full moon is associated with an increased risk of fatal motorcycle crashes, although potential confounders cannot be excluded. An awareness of the risk might encourage motorcyclists to ride with extra care during a full moon and, more generally, to appreciate the power of seemingly minor distractions at all times.

Disaster‐related carbon monoxide poisoning after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011: a nationwide observational study

“…Next, we analyzed the numbers of patients between March 11 to April 9, 2011, and March 11 to April 9, 2012. We used a binomial test to evaluate the numbers of patients with CO poisoning, and calculated odds ratios and their 95% confidence interval (CI) for the outcomes . Continuous variables were reported using medians and interquartile ranges, and categorical variables were reported using numbers and percentages.…”

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

“…This study defined the full moon as the 1 night each month when the entire facing surface was illuminated, as viewed from Earth. 2 On rare occasions, a month had 2 full moons; in such cases, we included both appearances (e.g., 1 and 30 January 2010). 2 The calendar patterns of lunar phases for each year during the study period were obtained from a website.…”

“… 2 On rare occasions, a month had 2 full moons; in such cases, we included both appearances (e.g., 1 and 30 January 2010). 2 The calendar patterns of lunar phases for each year during the study period were obtained from a website. 20 , 21 Based on a previous study, we used the double-control method, 2 which allows for near-perfect temporal symmetry for cases and controls and could not create a time imbalance inside each pair, 22 in this study to assess the difference in OHCA occurrences during full moon and control nights.…”

“… 2 The calendar patterns of lunar phases for each year during the study period were obtained from a website. 20 , 21 Based on a previous study, we used the double-control method, 2 which allows for near-perfect temporal symmetry for cases and controls and could not create a time imbalance inside each pair, 22 in this study to assess the difference in OHCA occurrences during full moon and control nights. In accordance with this method, the following 2 groups were identified: the exposure group, which consisted of OHCA that occurred on full moon nights; and the control group, which consisted of OHCA that occurred during the same calendar days in the 1 week before and after the full moon nights.…”

“…t is commonly believed that the full moon affects human behavior and the occurrence and outcome of various diseases. [1][2][3][4] Previous studies have suggested that lunar phases might be associated with an increased incident risk of cardiovascular diseases such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) 3 or atrial fibrillation. 5 These cardiovascular diseases could be the cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).…”