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Indoor and Built Environment, Vol. 15, No. 4,
365-372 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X06067372
Environmental Discomfort and Geomagnetic Field Influence on Psychological Mood in Athens, Greece
P. T. Nastos
Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, University of Athens, nastos{at}geol.uoa.gr
A. G. Paliatsos
Technological and Education Institute of Piraeus
V. P. Tritakis
Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics, Academy of Athens
A. Bergiannaki
University Research Institute of Psychiatric Hygiene, University of Athens
A multivariate analysis of 4797 cases of patients who were cured of their psychological symptoms and their notes filed by the psychiatric clinic of the Eginition Hospital in Athens, during the year 1994, has been done. The results of this analysis imply significant contribution of environmental variations, expressed by a discomfort index, in the aggravation of psychological symptoms like depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety, aggressiveness, etc. Moreover, geomagnetic field variations expressed by the international geomagnetic index (DST) manifest significant indications that they contribute to the aggravation of sleep disturbances. A clear seasonal variation, with a maximum around August and a minimum at the end of the year, appears in the environmental index, while a double oscillation with a period of about six months is obvious in the geomagnetic index. The same more or less seasonal variation was mirrored in most of the psychological symptoms we analysed in the present study.
Key Words: Psychological symptoms • Discomfort • Geomagnetism • Generalised linear models • Athens
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