Investigating the correlation between solar activity and human health outcomes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-2156.IntJSciRep20260034Keywords:
Solar activity, Sunspots, Geomagnetic index, Cardiovascular health, Neurological health, Public healthAbstract
Background: Solar activity, characterized by sunspots and solar cycles, has been hypothesized to influence human health outcomes. This study investigates the correlation between solar activity and health outcomes, including cardiovascular, neurological, and heat-related mortality.
Methods: This observational ecological study analyzed solar activity data from 1950 to 2024, including sunspot numbers and geomagnetic indices (Kp). Health outcomes were obtained from the WHO mortality database, stratified by latitude. Statistical analysis included correlation, regression, and stratified analysis to assess the relationships while accounting for confounders such as temperature anomalies and air pollution.
Results: Geomagnetic activity (Kp Index) showed a significant correlation with cardiovascular (r=0.72, p<0.001) and neurological mortality (r=0.65, p<0.01). Sunspot numbers correlated with heat-related mortality (r=0.48, p=0.03). Regression analysis revealed that geomagnetic activity was the strongest predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, with a coefficient of 14.18 (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Geomagnetic activity significantly impacts cardiovascular and neurological health. Public health strategies should consider monitoring solar activity to mitigate risks during extreme geomagnetic events.
Metrics
References
Ng KK. Prediction Methods in Solar Sunspots Cycles. Sci Rep. 2016;6:21028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep21028
Zurita-Valencia T, Muñoz V. Characterizing the Solar Activity Using the Visibility Graph Method. Entropy. 2023;25(2):342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/e25020342
Stoupel E, Babayev ES, Mustafa FR, Abramson E, Israelevich P, Sulkes J. Clinical Cosmobiology-Sudden Cardiac Death and Daily/Monthly Geomagnetic, Cosmic Ray and Solar Activity-the Baku Study (2003-2005). Sun Geosphere. 2006;1(2):13-6.
Stoupel E, Domarkiene S, Radishauskas R, Abramson E. Sudden cardiac death and geomagnetic activity: links to age, gender and agony time. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2002;13(1):11-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/JBCPP.2002.13.1.11
Nasirpour MH, Abbas S, Mohsen A, Saeid JG. Revealing the relationship between solar activity and COVID-19. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2021; 28(28):38074-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13249-2
Lee KC, Kim JS, Kwak YS. Relation of pandemics with solar cycles through ozone, cloud seeds, and vitamin D. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2023;30(5):13827-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22982-1
Korun M, Petrovič T, Vodenik B, Zorko B. Influence of the solar activity on the background of a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer. Appl Radiat Isot. 2023;194:110683. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110683
Brodnik D, Glavič-Cindro D, Korun M, Nečemer M, Maver-Modec P, Petrovič T, et al. Negative correlation between sunspots and 7Be/22Na in surface air. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2019;70(4):290-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2019-70-3336
Erren TC, Reiter RJ, Piekarski C. Light, timing of biological rhythms, and chronodisruption in man. Naturwissenschaften. 2003;90:485-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0468-6
Goldwater PN, Oberg EO. Infection, celestial influences, and sudden infant death syndrome. Cureus. 2021;13(8):e17449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.17449
Leamon RJ, McIntosh SW, Marsh DR. Termination of Solar Cycles and Tropospheric Variability. Earth Space Sci. 2021;8(4):e2020EA001223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001223
Di Napoli C, Allen T, Méndez-Lázaro PA, Pappenberger F. Heat stress in the Caribbean: Climatology, drivers, and trends of human biometeorology indices. Int J Climatol. 2023;43(1):405-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7774
Molina-Montenegro MA, Claudia E, Gabriel B, Acuña-Rodríguez IS, Martín FS, Gianoli E. Sunspot activity influences tree growth. Mol Ecol. 2024;33(8):e16813.
Zhou Z, Liu S, Ding Y, Fu Q, Wang Y, Cai H, et al. Assessing the responses of vegetation to meteorological drought and its influencing factors with partial wavelet coherence analysis. J Environ Manag. 2022;311:114879. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114879
Wirtz KW, Nicolas A, Aleksandr D, Julian L, Carsten Lemmen, Gerrit Lohmann, et al. Multicentennial cycles in demography synchronous with solar activity. Nat Commun. 2024;15:10248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54474-w
Kay RW. Geomagnetic Storms: Association with Incidence of Depression as Measured by Hospital Admission. Br J Psych. 1994;164(3):403-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.164.3.403
Chai Z, Wang Y, Li YM, Zhao ZG, Chen M. Correlations between geomagnetic field and global occurrence of cardiovascular diseases: evidence from 204 territories in different latitude. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):1771. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16698-1
Gaisenok O, Gaisenok D, Bogachev S. The Influence of Geomagnetic Storms on the Risks of Developing Myocardial Infarction, Acute Coronary Syndrome, and Stroke: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Med Phys. 2025;50(1):8-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jmp.jmp_122_24
Miyahara H, Tokanai F, Toru M, Mirei T, Hirohisa S, Kazuho H, et al. Gradual onset of the Maunder Minimum revealed by carbon-14. Sci Rep. 202111:5482.
NASA OMNIWeb. Geomagnetic indices database. Available at: https://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov. Accessed on 20 June 2024.
WHO Mortality Database. Available at: https://www.who.int/data. Accessed on 15 June 2024.
Mattoni M, Ahn S, Fröhlich C, Fröhlich F. Exploring the relationship between geomagnetic activity and human heart rate variability. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2020;120(6):1371-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04369-7
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
