ABSTRACT
Excess winter mortality has been documented in medical journals for about 150 years (Guy, 1858), and most countries suffer from 5-30% excess winter mortality (Curwen, 1991). However, there still remains much debate with regard to why certain countries experience dramatically higher rates of seasonal mortality than others. Cold strain from both indoors and outdoors has been implicated on several occasions (Clinch and Healy, 2000c, Eng and Mercer, 1998; Eurowinter Group, 1997), however other potential factors (other than cold strain) have rarely been analysed. In addition, there has been virtually no published research on seasonal variations in mortality in southern Europe. This may be due to the perception that such countries are not affected by excess winter deaths because of their mild winter climates. This analysis demonstrates that such a perception is highly mistaken.
