Sleep disturbance, increase in the number of births… many powers are lent to the full moon. Psychiatrists from the Indiana University School of Medicine have found a rather worrying link with the star: an increase in deaths by suicide is recorded during this lunar phase.
Their work has been featured in the scientific journal Discover Mental HealthApril 3, 2023.
Suicide: the risks are greater on a full moon
For this research, the team looked at data from the Marion County Forensic Institute (USA) regarding suicides that took place from 2012 to 2016, and other things like the phases of the moon. Psychiatrists have found that deaths by suicide increase dramatically during the week of the full moon. People over the age of 55 had the highest increase during this period.
The scientists also looked at the time of day and the months when suicides are highest. They found the highest risk times were 3-4 p.m. and September, respectively.
“From a clinical perspective and a public health perspective, we found important take-home messages from this study”, says Dr. Alexander B. Niculescu, lead author of the article. “High-risk patients should possibly be followed more closely during full moon week, late followingnoon, and possibly in September.”
Suicide biomarkers found in blood
In previous work, Dr. Niculescu developed tests to spot blood biomarkers for pain as well as mental health issues like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The expert used them to analyze blood samples taken by forensic scientists.
“We tested a list of the main blood biomarkers linked to suicidal thoughts that we have identified in previous studies”he explains in a communiqué. “The ‘suicidality’ biomarkers used to assess the risk of death by suicide during full moon, peak hour and peak month (…) appear to be genes that regulate the body’s internal clock , called the circadian clock”.
The biomarkers also showed that people with alcohol use disorders or depression were the patients most at risk during these periods.
Suicide: the luminosity in question?
The Indiana University researcher suggests that the increase in light from the full moon might be the cause of the increase in suicides during this period. “The effect of ambient light and the biological clock on suicide needs to be studied more closely, along with how people sleep and their exposure to light,” Dr. Niculescu estimates them. “Changes in light can affect vulnerable people, in conjunction with other risk factors.”
Regarding the increase in suicides between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., it might be linked, according to him, to the stress factors accumulated throughout the day as well as to the decrease in brightness leading to a lower expression of the genes of the clock. circadian. And, for the upsurge in September: the researcher and his team note that this period often goes hand in hand with the end of the summer holidays, which can be a particularly stressful time.
Dr. Niculescu and his team now intend to study the impact of exposure to screens at night on the suicidal state, particularly among young people. “Some people have the full moon in their hand every nightwarns the specialist. This is an area that we absolutely need to explore further.”
