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. (C) 2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Ventriglio A;Bellomo A;
2011-01-01

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. (C) 2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11369/410974
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