Missed medical appointments during shifts to and from daylight saving time

ABSTRACT

Transitions into and out of Daylight Saving Time (DST) can provide insights into how a minor change to a regular sleep–wake cycle can inadvertently affect health. We examined the relationship between DST and missed medical appointments. Using a large dataset, the proportion of missed appointments were examined prior and post spring and autumn clock changes. As predicted, the number of missed medical appointments significantly increased following the spring (forward) clock change and the week of the clock change. This trend was reversed following the transition out of DST. The implications of scheduling appointments around DST to increase attendance are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Daylight Saving Time
• missed appointments
• sleep
• sleep disturbance

View correction statement:

Correction to: Missed medical appointments during shifts to and from daylight saving time

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge Simon D. Kyle for helpful discussions relating to this work.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by an ESRC studentship to David A. Ellis (ES/G017271/1) and an ESRC research grant to Rob Jenkins (RES-060-25-0010). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.