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International Journal of Social Psychiatry
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Lunar Cycle and Consultations for Anxiety and Depression in General Practice

Greg Wilkinson

University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK

Marco Piccinelli

Servizio di Psicologia Medica, Istituto di Psichiatria, Università di Verona, Verona, Italy

Stephen Roberts

University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool L69 3BX

Rocco Micciolo

Istituto di Statistica e Ricerca Operativa, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy

John Fry

The influence of the moon on patient consultations for anxiety or depression in general practice was assessed through a retrospective survey based on general practice medical records and on lunar records detailing the dates and times of different phases of the moon. Seven-hundred-eighty-two patients continuously registered in a general practice in Beckenham, South London, between 1971 and 1988 were included in analyses. No statistically significant lunar effect was found by setting the expected surge in consultations one to three days after the full moon and the period of the sine-wave curve to 30 days. Similarly, no statistically significant lunar effect was found, when the period of the sine-wave curve was allowed to vary in order to best fit the data. The moon had little influence on when individuals consulted their general practitioner with anxiety or depression.

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 43, No. 1, 29-34 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/002076409704300103
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