Daylight Saving Time and incidence of myocardial infarction: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design

- We estimate the effect of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on myocardial infarction (AMI).
- We use daily mortality data provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
- We use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of interest.
- Results show that this abrupt disturbance increases incidence of AMI by 7.4%-8.5%.

Limited evidence suggests that Daylight Saving Time (DST) shifts have a substantial influence on the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Previous literature, however, lack proper identification necessary to vouch for causal interpretation. We exploit Daylight Saving Time shift using non-parametric regression discontinuity techniques to provide indisputable evidence that this abrupt disturbance does affect incidence of AMI.