ArticleGynecologic and obstetric investigation2002
The lunar cycle and the number of deliveries in Austria between 1970 and 1999.
Article in Gynecologic and obstetric investigation, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Response to: "Is the full moon fooling us?" by Oberndorfer M, Yang L and Waldhoer T.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2022Article
- Is the full moon fooling us?Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2022Article
- Testing the weekend effect hypothesis: Time of day and lunar phase better predict the timing of births in laboratory-housed primates than day of week.American journal of primatology · 2019Article
- Article
- An Overview of Monthly Rhythms and Clocks.Frontiers in neurology · 2017Review
- Lunar phase does not influence perioperative complications in total hip arthroplasty.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2012Article
- Popular belief meets surgical reality: impact of lunar phases, Friday the 13th and zodiac signs on emergency operations and intraoperative blood loss.World journal of surgery · 2011Article
- Are patient falls in the hospital associated with lunar cycles? A retrospective observational study.BMC nursing · 2005Article
- Appointments at a thyroid outpatient clinic and the lunar cycle.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2003Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The effect of the moon on the number of newborns has been investigated extensively with contradictory results but with few significant findings. In this paper, a possible lunar effect is analyzed by a nonlinear Poisson regression model similar to a Fourier analysis based on all children (n = 2,760,362) born in Austria between 1970 and 1999, i.e. 371 lunar cycles. We found no significant effect even when considering the influence of parity and gestation. Our study is in contrast to a French study using a similarly large data base which showed a weak but significant effect. Nevertheless, significant p values based on very large samples must be interpreted cautiously. Our study is in concordance with other studies which often use small and selected samples or rather inefficient statistical methods. We conclude that there is no significant effect of the lunar cycle on the number of deliveries in Austria.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.