Abstract Purpose This epidemiologic study tested an hypothesized association between the year of birth of persons with major mental illnesses and solar activity over the past century. Methods We collected data on diagnoses and birthdates of psychiatric patients born between 1926 and 1975 (N =1954) in south Italy for comparison to yearly solar activity as registered by the International Observatories. Results We found a strong inverse correlation between high solar activity (HSA) and incidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a 20-year period whereas the incidence of non-affective/non-psychotic disorders was moderately associated with HSA in the same period. Conclusions Interpretation of the observed correlations between HSA during years of birth and the incidence of mental illnesses remains unclear, but the findings encourage further study.


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    Titel :

    Birthdates of patients affected by mental illness and solar activity: A study from Italy


    Beteiligte:

    Erschienen in:

    Advances in Space Research ; 47 , 7 ; 1135-1139


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2010-11-22


    Format / Umfang :

    5 pages




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch