Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1874 — The Honrs at Which Death Occurs. [ARTICLE]

The Honrs at Which Death Occurs.

In a paper contributed by Dr. Lawson to the West-Riding Asylum Medical Reports, England, for 1874, several interesting observations are recorded regarding the number of deaths which occur during the different hours of the day. Following up the researches of Schneider and others, who had shown that the freatest number of deaths take place uring the ante-meridian hours, Dr. Lawson has been able to determine more closely the time of day when the greatest and least number of deaths oc cur. Supplementing the statistics of other institutions by those of the WestRiding Asylum, he finds that deaths from chronic diseases are more numerous between the hours of eight and ten in the morning than any other time of the day, while there are few-est between the hours of eight and ten in the evening. In the case of acute diseases, such as continued fevers, pneumonia, etc., a different result has been obtained. Following up what has been pointed out by other authorities, Dr. Lawson shows that the largest number of deaths from this class of diseases takes place either in the early- morning, when the powers of life are at their lowest, or in the afternoon, when acute disease is most active. The occurrence of these definite daily variations in the hourly death rate is shown, in the case of chronic diseases, to be dependent on recurring, variations in the energies of organic life; and in the case of acute diseases the cause is ascribed either to the existence of a well-marked daily extreme of bodily depression, ora daily maximum intensity of acute disease.