THE PERIODICITIES IN AND BIOMETEOROLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH BED OCCUPANCY OF AN ACUTE PSYCHIATRIC-WARD IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM

Recently, some investigators have established a seasonal pattern in no rmal human psychology, physiology and behaviour, and in the incidence of psychiatric psychopathology. In an attempt to elucidate the chronop sy and meteotropism in the latter, we have examined the chronograms of , and the biometeorological relationships to bed occupancy of the psyc hiatric ward of the Antwerp University Hospital during three consecuti ve calendar years (1987-1989). Weather data for the vicinity were prov ided by a local meteorological station and comprise mean atmospheric p ressure, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and minutes of sunlight and precipitation/day. The number of psychiatric beds occupi ed during the study period exhibited a significant seasonal variation. Peaks in bed occupancy were observed in March and November, with lows in August. An important part of the variability in the number of beds occupied could be explained by the composite effects of weather varia bles of the preceding weeks. Our results suggest that short-term fluct uations in atmospheric activity may dictate some of the periodicities in psychiatric psychopathology.