We all know that birthdays can be full of hazards – candles in
close proximity to hairspray, excessive alcohol consumption,
aggressively forced merriment, the realization of our inevitably
advancing decrepitude — but “Happy Deathday To You” doesn’t
quite have the same ring to it, does it? Yet researchers who
have studied more than two million people over the course of two
decades have found that the term might be apt: we are more
likely to die on our own birthday than any other day of the
year. The study, published in the journal Annals of
Epidemiology, found that people over 60 were 14% more likely to
die on their birthdays than on any other day. The most common
causes of birthday deaths were heart attacks, which rose 18.6%
on birthdays, and strokes, which were up 21.5%. There is also a
34.9% rise in suicide, and a remarkable 44% jump for deaths by
falling down. Or perhaps people are keen to emulate famous
birthday-perishers William Shakespeare, who died on his birthday
on April 23 1616, and actress Ingrid B