A recent Mayo Clinic study examining the effects of daylight saving time (DST) on heart health suggests that the effects are likely minimal.
In a nationwide study, researchers applied sophisticated statistical models to examine the association between daylight saving time and serious cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. The study included 36,116,951 adults ages 18 and older from most U.S. states. (Arizona and Hawaii were excluded because they do not have DST in place.)
The researchers focused on the week immediately following the DST transition in the spring and fall, when clocks are set either forward or backward by one hour.
“We studied the entire United States for five years and found that daylight saving time is unlikely to make a clinically meaningful difference in cardiovascular health,” said cardiovascular disease researcher Benjamin. says Satterfield, MD. and lead author of the study.
Researchers found that 74,722 adverse cardiovascular events occurred throughout the study during the spring and fall DST transition periods. Adverse cardiovascular events were recorded if the patient was hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of heart attack, stroke, cardiogenic shock, or cardiac arrest.
“Because these cardiovascular events are a common health condition, the question arose whether this was more common than we would have expected if it had not occurred after the transition to daylight savings time,” Dr. Satterfield said. say.
Observance of daylight saving time varies around the world. Countries that move their clocks forward or backward an hour may do so on different dates, and some countries do not observe daylight saving time at all.
The Mayo Clinic study showed a statistically small increase in the incidence of cardiovascular events on Mondays and Fridays after the spring daylight saving time transition, but when looking at all the data, the researchers found that He said he does not believe the increase is clinically significant.
The researchers noted that the implementation of the time change was aimed at aligning social and work activities with daylight hours and reducing artificial lighting to save energy. They stress that he does not need to make any changes to the DST system due to heart health concerns.
“Concerns about heart health should not be a consideration when deciding whether to eliminate daylight savings time,” said Bernard J. Gersh, MD, PhD, a cardiologist. the study.
Dr. Gersh and Dr. Satterfield point out that the debate over daylight saving time also includes other aspects of health. For example, Dr. Satterfield said researchers are looking at the effects of daylight saving time on mental health and the effect of daylight saving time on car accident rates.
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The Mayo Clinic's Robert D. and Patricia E. Kahn Center for Health Care Delivery Sciences supported this research. Check the study for a complete list of authors, disclosures, and funders.
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