Seasonality of mortality: the September phenomenon in Mediterranean countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Seasonal increases in the mortality rate have been associated with excessively cold or hot weather. We evaluated monthly patterns of mortality in selected countries.

Methods

We analyzed all-cause mortality statistics from 5 European Mediterranean countries (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Spain), Sweden, North America (United States and Canada), Australia, New Zealand and Japan. We extracted and tabulated data on monthly all-cause mortality in the general population from the earliest to the latest year that records were available.

Results

We identified relevant data for a period of 2-57 years in each country. In the Mediterranean countries, the lowest average daily mortality was observed in September (all countries, 125/168 [74%] years). The fewest deaths we

SUBMITTER: Falagas ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2761439 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature