LUNAR CYCLE AND CONSULTATIONS FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN GENERAL-PRACTICE

The influence of the moon on patient consultations for anxiety or depr ession in general practice was assessed through a retrospective survey based on general practice medical records and on lunar records detail ing 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 analys es. 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 stati stically significant lunar effect was found, when the period of the si ne-wave curve was allowed to vary in order to best fit the data. The m oon had little influence on when individuals consulted their general p ractitioner with anxiety or depression.