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When
it comes to birthday presence, look for women.
A new
study by UCSD sociology Professor David Phillips indicates that
the prospect of a birthday tends to prolong the lives of women
but precipitate death in men.
Phillips
and two assistants surveyed 2,745,149 deaths by natural causes
between 1969 and 1990. They found that the death rate for women
dipped below normal in the week before birthdays and increased
to its highest point during the following week.
Male
mortality, on the other hand. peaked shortly before the birthday.
Phillips
said the results suggest that women tend to perceive birthdays
as positive, symbolically meaningful events in their lives, while
men more often look at birthdays negatively.
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"Men
are more likely to evaluate their lives based on achievements
in the workplace," he said. "Society. however, often
sets unrealistic goals, and some men become depressed as their
birthdays arrive and they take stock of where they are."
But with
more women in the workplace, Phillips said, their statistics eventually
may more closely resemble those of men.
The study
is the latest research by Phillips on mortality and it's relationship
to calendar events. Earlier, Phillips reported that some people
were able to postpone their deaths until after particular holidays
and that people are more likely to commit suicide during the year
of a symbolic birthday, generally at ages ending in five or zero.
Phillips,
who is 49, confidently predicted many more years of research.
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