Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 50, Issue 6 , Pages 573-577 , November 2009

Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study

  • Teresa Biermann

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +49 9131 85 44773; fax: +49 9131 8534105.
  • ,
  • Rita Asemann

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • ,
  • Carmel McAuliffe

      Affiliations

    • National Suicide Research Foundation, Cork, Ireland
  • ,
  • Armin Ströbel

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • ,
  • Jochen Keller

      Affiliations

    • Police Department of Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany
  • ,
  • Wolfgang Sperling

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • ,
  • Stefan Bleich

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • ,
  • Johannes Kornhuber

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • ,
  • Udo Reulbach

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
    • National Suicide Research Foundation, Cork, Ireland

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PII: S0010-440X(09)00003-0

doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.01.002

Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 50, Issue 6 , Pages 573-577 , November 2009