Temporal variation in violent death in Erie County, New York, 1973-1983

A log-linear analysis of monthly, seasonal, and day-of-the-week trends for four types of violent deaths (suicide, homicide, traffic accident, and miscellaneous accident) occurring in Erie County, New York, between 1973 and 1983 was conducted. There were 3,787 violent deaths. There was no seasonal trend noted for any type of death except traffic deaths, which increased during the latter years of the study and which occurred more often in the summer. A general trend for increased deaths occurring on weekends was noted for each type of death except suicide. The authors speculate that this culturally entrained temporal variable may be related to increased alcohol consumption during weekends.