Table 1 Articles investigating the relationship between changes in magnetic fields and suicides or depression
From: Association of geomagnetic disturbances and suicides in Japan, 1999–2010
No. | Authors | Country | Study period | No. of suicides/admissions | Relationship investigated | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kay [40] | England | January 1976–December 1986 | 1,042 male and 2,407 female admissions | Geomagnetic storms and the incidence of depression | There is statistically significant 36.2 % increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic-depressive illness in the second week following such storms |
2 | Gordon and Berk [9] | South Africa | January 1980–December 1992 | 1,200 males and 287 females | Geomagnetic storm activity and suicide rates | A significant correlation was found between the mean total number of suicides and the mean average storm activity during the same period. This correlation was true of both male and female suicides |
3 | Partonen et al. [7] | Finland | January 1979–December 1999 | 21,622 males and 5,847 females | The effect of solar radiation and geomagnetic activity on the frequency of suicides | High levels of solar radiation activity were associated with an increased risk of suicide, but the effect of geomagnetic activity was weak |
4 | Berk et al. [10] | Australia | January 1968–August 2002 | 51,845 males and 16,327 females | Geomagnetic storm activity and suicides | Suicide amongst females increased significantly in autumn during concurrent periods of geomagnetic storm activity. This pattern was not observed in males |
5 | Brahic [11] | Russian | 1948–1997 | Unknown | Geomagnetic peaks and number of suicides | The geomagnetism peaks matched up with peaks in the number of suicides |
6 | Present study | Japan | January 1999–December 2010 | 262,596 males and 102,539 females | Geomagnetic activity and number of suicides | There was a statistically significant relationship found between the number of male suicides and the K index value |