Why you’re more likely to die on your birthday than any other day of the year
THERE'S a chilling reason why your next birthday may not end up being so happy - it's the day of the year when you're most likely to die.
Researchers have found that an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, falls and suicides makes our birthdays a far more dangerous day of the year than any other.
A study of two million people found that over-60s were 14 per cent more likely to die on their birthday, with a staggering 44 per cent jump in fall deaths on the big day.
At the time of publishing the study, Dr Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross of the University of Zurich said: "Birthdays end lethally more frequently than might be expected."
As chilling as it sounds, the sinister findings have been backed up by Canadian research into birthday deaths as well.
It emerged that stroke risks are higher than average on birthdays, particularly among people with high blood pressure.
"There are two camps - one is the camp that suggests you eat too much and you're getting on a bit and that causes you to die.
"The other is a placebo effect. You are knife-edged on death. And you kept yourself going until your birthday. You think 'that's it I've had enough I'm out of here'."
However, it's not just birthdays which have a habit of going south - there are other dangerous days to watch out for as well.
For one, studies have shown that New Year's Day is one of the deadliest dates on any calendar, with a far higher risk of death than any normal day.
DEAD INTRIGUING This interactive graph can predict what's most likely to kill you
University of California researchers that 5 per cent more people die from natural causes on January 1 than any other day.
Other studies have also pointed to an increased risk of accidents over the festive period - with Christmas day another dangerous date.
It's not yet known for sure why birthdays and New Year's Day are so dangerous - but you may want to take extra care if your birthday happens to fall on January 1.
Previously, we revealed what really happens in the final seconds before you die.
We also shared the chilling news that you know you're dead after you kick the bucket.