When our special day rolls around, we’re often torn between celebrating another year of wisdom and dreading the march of time. But the ‘birthday effect’ adds a curious twist to this age-old celebration.
The birthday effect is a statistical phenomenon (and a real party pooper) in which a person’s likelihood of dying is higher on, or around, their birthday.
This somewhat gloomy discovery has been validated by various studies, such as the 2012 Swiss study, which identified a 13.8 per cent rise in the number of people aged 60 and older who meet their end on their actual birthdays, compared to other days.
Similarly, a 2015 study in the US found that, on average, the risk of dying on your birthday is 6.7 per cent higher.
So why does this peculiar phenomenon occur? There are a few theories:
Firstly, birthdays often lead to over-the-top celebrations with excessive consumption of alcohol. This can increase risky behaviour and poor decision-making, which can result in more accidents and drunk driving incidents.
For some individuals grappling with terminal illnesses, the birthday serves as a significant milestone to aim for. One theory is that they’re able to muster the strength to make it to one more candle on the cake, before letting go.
Birthdays can also trigger introspection and sometimes lead to ‘birthday blues’, characterised by sadness or depression. These feelings often stem from unmet expectations, reflections on ageing, loneliness and stress.
Tragically, these emotions can elevate the risk of suicide, as was found by a 2016 Japanese study that showed the likelihood of people committing suicide on their birthdays was 50 per cent higher than on other days.
Another possibility is that death registration records might contain inaccuracies, with some individuals mistakenly recorded as having the same birth and death dates. However, these errors are unlikely to significantly distort the results to the extent observed.
The birthday effect is a complex phenomenon that is yet to be fully understood and could be influenced by a combination of all the factors mentioned above and maybe more besides.
So, when your birthday comes around, go ahead and blow out those candles, but maybe skip that extra shot of tequila.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Alex Mercado, Manchester) 'What is the Birthday Effect?'
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