Medical Hypotheses
Volume 55, Issue 1 , Pages 24-25, July 2000

Gout attacks and lunar cycle☆

  • M. Mikulecky

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia
    • ,
  • J. Rovensky

      Affiliations

    • Research Institute of Rheumatic Diseases, Piest’any, Slovakia

Received 5 July 1999; accepted 22 July 1999.

Abstract 

The aim was to search for periodical fluctuations in daily occurrence of gout attacks during the synodic lunar cycle. 126 gout attacks were recorded between 1972 and 1994 at known calendar dates. The synodic plexogram, displaying the number of attacks for each day of the cycle, was processed by cosinor regression. A pronounced cycling was found, with highest peaks under the new and full moon (syzygigies). Thus, the maximal occurrence of attacks coincides with the peaking lunisolar tidal effect. Similar relation of attacks to synodic moon was seen in bronchial asthma of children, and a reciprocal one in paroxysmal tachyarrhythmia. Differing pathogenetic backgrounds of these diseases substantiate the observed differences in their putative reactions on the changing cosmogeophysical environment.

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☆ The original data are available from the senior author’s E-mail address on request. The source documentation files areopen to any kind of inspection in the Research Institute of Rheumatic Diseases.

PII: S0306-9877(99)90973-8

doi:10.1054/mehy.1999.0973

Medical Hypotheses
Volume 55, Issue 1 , Pages 24-25, July 2000

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