ALCOHOLIC PSYCHOSES AND WEATHER CONDITIONS IN MOSCOW DURING 2005–2011
It was previously shown that for many years in July and August the number of alcoholic psychoses (AP) increased regardless of alcohol consumption, and that was due to hot weather. The initial data we have analyzed were the data of the Moscow’s Emergency Care about the daily number of patients with AP admitted to hospitals in the period 2005–2011 (a total of 54 968 patients in 2 556 days) and the average daily temperature (T) over the same period, and the «Mosgorstat» data on a monthly sales of alcoholic beverages (AB) in 2009–2011. A normal summer increase in AP at a relatively equal sales of AD at this time was observed in 2005–2006, 2009 and 2011. In 2010 T exceeded a typical summer maximum of 24 °C during the period of 44 days. Two weeks after the extreme T, AP began to decrease, and that continued during the period of extreme T, and three weeks afterwards (in total 53 days). During the same period in 2010 there were observed 214 AP less compared to 2009. The similar but less pronounced dynamics of the AP and T were observed in 2007 — for the first time since the beginning of observation 1980). The sales of alcoholic beverages except beer dropped down almost simultaneously with a reduc ABSTRACTS tion in the number of AP in 2010. Therefore, the anomalous decrease in the number of AP in the summers of 2007 and 2010 could be associated with the heat wave caused by the weather and the probable discomfort of patients with alcoholism.