Postponement Of Death Research Articles

Lorca After Life by Noël Valis

Reviewed by: Lorca After Life by Noël Valis Salvatore Poeta Valis, Noël. Lorca After Life. Yale UP, 2022. Pp. 439. ISBN 978-0-300-25786-1. Lorca After Life proposes to complete what the author labels an “incompleteness” built into Lorca’s life and work (4). According to the book’s thesis Lorca’s work, homosexual identity, and murder left behind an unending transformative undercurrent, which the author labels Lorca’s afterlife with ties previous and posthumously to the Granadine’s life and work. The catalyst for this transformational process was Antonio Machado’s “El crimen fue en Granada,” the very first funeral elegy devoted to Lorca’s assassination by the right, memorialized by the republican left as a testimonial of the events. Notwithstanding the historical, cultural and literary scenarios leading to Spain’s civil war, the author argues, in contrast, that the seeds of much of Lorca’s afterlife were planted by the poet himself, driven by a conscious and deliberate motivation to self-fashion his historical and literary identity for posterity. This study attempts to recontextualize the specific events of García Lorca’s life and work within the larger literary, cultural, social and political framework of Spain, reaching as far back as the seventeenth century to present times. Following the “Introduction” (1–26), Lorca After Life is divided into two main thematic sections, with each section divided into three subsections: Part One, devoted to the murder (29–153), is subdivided as follows: 1. “Why Dead Poets Matter” (29–68), 2. “Lorca’s Grave” (69–98), 3. “The People’s Poet and the Right” (99–153). Part Two, equally subdivided into three sections, is devoted to Lorca’s gayness as follows: 4. “Fabulous Fag (I), or the Politics of Celebrity Murder” (157–85), 5. “Fabulous Fag (II), or the Celebrity of Sex” (186–230), 6. “Fabulous Fag (III), or the Face in the Crowd” (231–86). The book concludes with a “Postscript” (287–91), rather extensive and detailed “Notes” (293–361), and a considerable “Bibliography” (363–425). “Why Dead Poets Matter” presents Lorca as the culmination of what the author labels a “Dead Poets Society,” arguing that Lorca’s unfinished work due to his premature death, either for political intolerance or personal reasons—the right’s rejection of his gayness—have served to “postpone” the poet’s death. Moreover, beyond Lorca’s conversion to a civic poet of the people of Spain, the poet’s international stature and celebrity status, versus the national recognition of such figures as Conde de Villamediana, Garcilaso, Zorrilla, Bécquer, Antonio Machado, Miguel Hernández, and Cernuda, position the gay poet as a leader in this society of dead poets. Further, the countless failures to locate and exhume the body have served to perpetuate Lorca’s postponement of death, substituting the stone for what Valis terms Lorca’s “paper pantheon.” “Lorca’s Grave” contrasts the definitive death of Francisco Ayala, his Granadine compatriot, at 103 years of age, with Federico García Lorca’s unfinished death as a continuous arrival, as portrayed in the poet’s “Canción de jinete”; a future, unending death filled with the past. [End Page 155] “The People’s Poet and the Right” discusses how, if on the one hand, Lorca transformed himself as a poet of the people, thanks to his work with La Barraca and talks throughout Spain, Barcelona in particular, he was also used as a political football by the left as well as the right. Lorca did not associate himself officially with a particular party, but he had friends and mixed with individuals on both sides of the political spectrum; José Antonio Primo de Rivera among them. Particularly insidious was Roy Campbell’s accusation of Lorca as a rich señorito of the left while at the same time associating the poet with fascist views in Flowering Rifle. Part Two advances the theory that Lorca’s gayness was a contributing factor to his assassination. “Fabulous Fag (I), or the Politics of Celebrity Murder” contextualizes Lorca’s criticism for being a famous gay writer within the wider socio-cultural spectrum of seventeenth century Spain (Conde de Villamediana, Góngora), nineteenth century Europe (Wilde...

Upholding trust in therapeutic trials and evidence-based medicine: need for full disclosure of data, crowdsourcing data analysis and independent review?

An active 74-year-old woman with hypertension and a family history of hypercholesterolaemia was referred for evaluation of chest pain and underwent coronary angiography. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was 270 mg/dL....

FC 067WHEN TO INITIATE DIALYSIS TO REDUCE MORTALITY AND CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS IN ADVANCED CKD: A NATIONWIDE COHORT STUDY

Abstract Background and Aims There is currently no direct evidence to inform a specific glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to initiate maintenance dialysis. Previous studies are limited by the number of kidney function thresholds compared, immortal time or lead time biases, or small sample sizes. The only randomised trial (IDEAL) found no difference between early versus late start, but confidence intervals were wide. Method Nationwide observational cohort study using data from the Swedish Renal Registry between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2016, with follow-up until June 1, 2017. Included individuals were receiving nephrologist care and had an eGFR between 10-20 ml/min/1.73m2. A randomized trial was emulated using the cloning, censoring and weighting method. Our primary analysis compared late (at an eGFR 5-7 ml/min/1.73m2 [eGFR5-7]), intermediate (eGFR7-10) and early (eGFR10-14) dialysis initiation to validate our analytical methods by comparison with IDEAL. Our secondary analysis compared fifteen dialysis initiation strategies with eGFR values ranging between 4 and 19 ml/min/1.73m2 in increments of 1 ml/min/1.73m2. Study outcomes were 5-year all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke). Adjusted hazard ratios [HR] and cumulative survival proportions were estimated using a dynamic marginal structural model. Results Among 10,290 individuals with advanced CKD (median age 73 years; 36% women; median eGFR 16.8 ml/min/1.73m2), 3725 individuals initiated dialysis, 4160 died and 2446 experienced MACE. In trial emulation, the 5-year mortality risk was 53.0% for eGFR5-7, 50.3% for eGFR7-10 and 49.7% for eGFR10-14. Compared with eGFR5-7, the 5-year absolute mortality risk difference was -2.7% (95% CI, -4.6% to -0.7%) for eGFR7-10 and -3.3% (95% CI, -5.2% to -1.3%) for eGFR10-14, with a HR of 0.97 (0.94-0.99) and 0.96 (0.94-0.99), respectively. The 5-year absolute MACE risk differences were -1.1% (95% CI, -3.8% to 2.1%) for eGFR7-10 and -3.6% (95% CI, -6.0% to -1.0%) for eGFR10-14 compared with eGFR5-7, with a HR of 1.00 (0.97-1.04) and 0.96 (0.97-1.00), respectively. When analysing fifteen eGFR thresholds, initiation at eGFR15-16 was associated with the largest reduction in mortality (absolute difference, -5.9% [95% CI, -8.0% to -3.1%]; HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.85-0.92]) and MACE (absolute difference, -4.5% [95% CI, -7.6% to -1.4%]; HR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.89-0.97]), compared with eGFR4-5. This -5.9% absolute risk difference translates to a mean postponement of death of 1.8 months over 5-years of follow-up. However, dialysis would need to be initiated on average 14 months earlier. Conclusion Early dialysis initiation was associated with a modest reduction in mortality and cardiovascular events. Such a reduction may not outweigh the burden of longer dialysis treatment duration for the patient.

Effect of a New Cardiac Massage Facilitator Device on the Fatigue of Rescue Workers in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Abstract Introduction: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a direct intervention for the prevention or postponement of death in patients with cardiac arrest. The fatigue of rescue workers is of high significance when performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation effectively. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a cardiac massage facilitator device on the fatigue of rescue workers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was carried out on 30 emergency medical aid non-continuous bachelor students, divided equally into two groups: one group performed cardiac massage using the device and the other without the device. Fatigue levels were assessed using a visual analog scale to evaluate fatigue severity. Results: The mean age of participants was 23.42 ± 2.02 years, the mean height was 175 ± 4.43 cm, and the mean weight was 65.45 ± 5.02 kg. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean fatigue scores of the two groups: 0.06 with the device vs. 0.57 without the device. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the cardiac massage facilitator device presented in this study could be effective in improving the quality of cardiac massage and be helpful in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Postponement of Death by Statin Use: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

The average postponement of the outcome (gain in time to event) has been proposed as a measure to convey the effect of preventive medications. Among its advantages over number needed to treat and relative risk reduction is a better intuitive understanding among lay persons. To develop a novel approach for modeling outcome postponement achieved within a trial's duration, based on published trial data and to present a formalized meta-analysis of modeled outcome postponement for all-cause mortality in statin trials. The outcome postponement was modeled on the basis of the hazard ratio or relative risk, the mortality rate in the placebo group and the trial's duration. Outcome postponement was subjected to a meta-analysis. We also estimated the average outcome postponement as the area between Kaplan-Meier curves. Statin trials were identified through a systematic review. The median modeled outcome postponement was 10.0days (interquartile range, 2.9-19.5days). Meta-analysis of 16 trials provided a summary estimate of outcome postponement for all-cause mortality of 12.6days, with a 95% postponement interval (PI) of 7.1-18.0. For primary, secondary, and mixed prevention trials, respectively, outcome postponements were 10.2days (PI, 4.0-16.3), 17.4days (PI, 6.0-28.8), and 8.5days (PI, 1.9-15.0). The modeled outcome postponement is amenable to meta-analysis and may be a useful approach for presenting the benefits of preventive interventions. Statin treatment results in a small increase of average survival within the duration of a trial. The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO [CRD42016037507] .

Trends in the use and costs of round-the-clock long-term care in the last two years of life among old people between 2002 and 2013 in Finland

BackgroundThe structure of long-term care (LTC) for old people has changed: care has been shifted from institutions to the community, and death is being postponed to increasingly old age. The aim of the study was to analyze how the use and costs of LTC in the last two years of life among old people changed between 2002 and 2013.MethodsData were derived from national registers. The study population contains all those who died at the age of 70 years or older in 2002–2013 in Finland (N = 427,078). The costs were calculated using national unit cost information. Binary logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models were used to study the association of year of death with use and costs of LTC.ResultsThe proportion of those who used LTC and the sum of days in LTC in the last two years of life increased between 2002 and 2013. The mean number of days in institutional LTC decreased, while that for sheltered housing increased. The costs of LTC per user decreased.ConclusionsUse of LTC in the last two years of life increased, which was explained by the postponement of death to increasingly old age. Costs of LTC decreased as sheltered housing replaced institutional LTC. However, an accurate comparison of costs of different types of LTC is difficult, and the societal costs of sheltered housing are not well known.

Postponement of death weighed against duration of treatment and toxicity as key components in shared decision making about last line oncologic treatment.

e21555 Background: Decisions about last-line treatment are challenging in oncology practice. The hope of prolonging life and reducing symptoms should be weighed against the time spend on treatment, side effects and cost. Standard oncology measures of effect such as median survival time and number needed to treat are not easily explained to patients. Postponement of symptoms or death has been shown to be superior to e.g. number needed to treat in communicating the benefit of treatment to patients. The aim of the present study was to develop a tool for shared decision making in last line treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. Methods: A literature review identified pivotal phase III trials about specific antineoplastic agents for metastatic colorectal cancer after standard treatments. Principles for determining the mean survival followed restricted mean survival time analysis. High-resolution survival curves were digitalized. Areas under the curves (AUC) were calculated for the experimental group and the control group. Results: Two drugs are approved for colorectal cancer after exposure to standard treatments; regorafenib and TAS102. AUC at one year for regorafenib was 30.1 weeks compared to 26.6 weeks for placebo resulting in a difference of 3.5 weeks. AUC at one year for TAS102 was 31.4 weeks compared to 25.7 weeks for placebo resulting in a difference of 5.7 weeks. Average time on treatment was 12 weeks for regorafenib and 14 weeks for TAS102. Risk of severe, medical significant or life-threatening (grade 3-4) adverse events increased from 14% to 54% (regorafenib) and from 52% to 69% (TAS102). Conclusions: Data was developed for shared decision making using restricted mean survival time. A patient with colorectal cancer after standard treatment can be advised: »This is a deadly disease irrespective of treatment. On average, taking medicine for about 12 weeks will postpone death for 4 to 6 weeks. Taking the medicine will cause 17 to 40 extra patients out of 100 experiencing severe or life-threatening side effects«. The concept of postponement will be further explored as a key component in patient empowerment for value based care.

What Enhancement Techniques Suggest about the Good Death

The contemporary increase in life expectancy in Western countries has led to an intensified focus on good ageing processes as a way to manage ageing populations. We argue that while qualifications of the ageing process such as active and healthy ageing endeavour to compress morbidity through enhancement techniques, the idea of the good old age also implicitly tells a tale about the ‘good’ death. We explore how current discourses depict old age as an active, engaged and independent life phase and construct a specific idea of the good death as one that is quick and painless. By engaging with literature on ageing, death and enhancement technologies as well as current Danish healthcare initiatives, we examine the paradoxical, contemporary notion of death as natural, quick, painless and controllable. Danish rehabilitation programmes are provided as an example of specific enhancement techniques that through motivation and physical activity orchestrate the good death in a body that has been as healthy as possible for as long as possible. However, when such techniques become a moral injunction rather than a choice, questions arise concerning the relationship between autonomy and death. We argue that the discursive construction of the good death happens in tandem with enhancement techniques that postpone death, and that this postponement of death has increasingly become more of an imperative than an autonomous decision.

Early invasive versus non-invasive treatment in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (FRISC-II): 15 year follow-up of a prospective, randomised, multicentre study

The FRISC-II trial was the first randomised trial to show a reduction in death or myocardial infarction with an early invasive versus a non-invasive treatment strategy in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome. Here we provide a remaining lifetime perspective on the effects on all cardiovascular events during 15 years' follow-up. The FRISC-II prospective, randomised, multicentre trial was done at 58 Scandinavian centres in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Between June 17, 1996, and Aug 28, 1998, we randomly assigned (1:1) 2457 patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome to an early invasive treatment strategy, aiming for revascularisation within 7 days, or a non-invasive strategy, with invasive procedures at recurrent symptoms or severe exercise-induced ischaemia. Plasma for biomarker analyses was obtained at randomisation. For long-term outcomes, we linked data with national health-care registers. The primary endpoint was a composite of death or myocardial infarction. Outcomes were compared as the average postponement of the next event, including recurrent events, calculated as the area between mean cumulative count-of-events curves. Analyses were done by intention to treat. At a minimum of 15 years' follow-up on Dec 31, 2014, data for survival status and death were available for 2421 (99%) of the initially recruited 2457 patients, and for other events after 2 years for 2182 (89%) patients. During follow-up, the invasive strategy postponed death or next myocardial infarction by a mean of 549 days (95% CI 204-888; p=0·0020) compared with the non-invasive strategy. This effect was larger in non-smokers (mean gain 809 days, 95% CI 402-1175; pinteraction=0·0182), patients with elevated troponin T (778 days, 357-1165; pinteraction=0·0241), and patients with high concentrations of growth differentiation factor-15 (1356 days, 507-1650; pinteraction=0·0210). The difference was mainly driven by postponement of new myocardial infarction, whereas the early difference in mortality alone was not sustained over time. The invasive strategy led to a mean of 1128 days (95% CI 830-1366) postponement of death or next readmission to hospital for ischaemic heart disease, which was consistent in all subgroups (p<0·0001). During 15 years of follow-up, an early invasive treatment strategy postponed the occurrence of death or next myocardial infarction by an average of 18 months, and the next readmission to hospital for ischaemic heart disease by 37 months, compared with a non-invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome. This remaining lifetime perspective supports that an early invasive treatment strategy should be the preferred option in most patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome. Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and Uppsala Clinical Research Center.

Gender Convergence in Human Survival and the Postponement of Death

It has been a long-accepted demographic maxim that females outlive males. Using data for England and Wales, we show that life expectancy at age 30 is converging, and continuation of this long-term trend suggests life expectancy could reach parity in 2030, resulting in considerable economic and social ramifications. The degree of parity in life expectancy is examined by comparing the historical record in four countries that show that convergence is not a new phenomenon. Contributory factors are considered including changes in male smoking habits and male employment patterns. A model is presented that considers gender differences in longevity using novel methods for analyzing life tables. It determines the ages from which death is being postponed, to the ages at which people now die, the relative speed at which these changes are taking place between genders, and how the changes observed are affecting survival prospects at different ages up to 2030. It finds that as life expectancy continues to rise there is accompanying convergence in modal age of death of between 92 and 93 years.

End-of-life: the traditional Christian view

The Christian pursuit of eternal life through repentance has implications for how health care technology should be used at the end of life. Although there is no obligation always to postpone death, there could be a duty to use high-technology medicine to gain a last opportunity for repentance. Health, health care, and long life are put into perspective by Christianity’s transcendent goals. The Christian pursuit of holiness through humble submission to God excludes intentionally bringing about death through either omission or commission. At the same time, it prohibits using medicine in an all-consuming pursuit of health and postponement of death; the attempt to save life at all costs is thus forbidden. Christianity also accepts the appropriateness of analgesia and sedation to avoid terminal suffering and despair if this does not, by obtunding consciousness, take away a final opportunity for repentance. The logic of these commitments can be fully understood only within Christianity’s allencompassing way of living and dying aimed at holiness. This otherworldly focus can create tensions with many secular moral views as well as with individuals who identify themselves as Christians but who possess nontraditional moral theological beliefs. Such tensions exist as well both between and within Christian groups.

The “Merry Christmas Coronary” and “Happy New Year Heart Attack” Phenomenon

In 1999, my research group published a study that examined whether there are seasonable variations in cardiac mortality in a location where winter weather is mild—Los Angeles County, Calif.1 During a 12-year period, there were consistently more deaths from ischemic heart disease during the winter than there were during the summer. About one third more deaths from ischemic heart disease were recorded in December and January than from June through September in Los Angeles County. We initially thought that this phenomenon might be explained by colder temperatures. Colder temperatures have been associated with an increase in vascular resistance, coronary vasospasm, blood pressure, and hemostasis, as reviewed by Spencer et al.2 Temperatures in Los Angeles during the winter, although colder than they are during the summer, are still mild as compared with other climates. When we plotted daily rates of death from ischemic heart disease in Los Angeles County during November, December, and January, we were struck by an increase in deaths starting around Thanksgiving, climbing through Christmas, peaking on New Year’s Day, and then falling, whereas daily minimum temperatures remained relatively flat during December and January. We postulated that this peak in cardiac deaths during the holidays might result from other factors, including the emotional stress of the holidays, overindulgence during the holiday season, or both.1 See p 3781 The study by Phillips and coworkers3 in this issue of Circulation is an important contribution that extends our initial observation of an increase …

The Continuing Flight from Marriage and Parenthood Among the Overseas Chinese in East and Southeast Asia: Dimensions and Implications

BY THE MID-i1980s it had become apparent that several countries in East and Southeast Asia had not only completed the demographic transition at historically unprecedented speed, but also had entered a post-demographic transition phase largely unparalleled in the experiences of Western countries. Three distinctive features characterized this phase (Leete 1987). First, the postponement of death, whereby the hard rock of mortality crumbled as infant mortality fell to around 0.5 percent of annual births and life expectancy exceeded 80 years. Second, a conspicuous rise in the age at marriage, such that women were on average over age 25 at the time of their first marriage. Third, an avoidance of births, such that period fertility rates tumbled well below replacement, implying that successive generations of women would have too few daughters to replace themselves. Prominent in the East and Southeast Asian post-demographic transition were the overseas Chinese, particularly those in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Some three decades of sustained high economic growth rates have completely transformed the economic and social settings where these Chinese live-settings that differ from one another in political and ethnic character. The Asian overseas Chinese are predominantly urban, with roots in the southeastern provinces of the Mainland-particularly Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Although sharing the same traditional culture and similar customs, considerable subcultural differences exist between overseas Chinese populations, particularly with respect to the linguistic groups to which they belong (Purcell 1965). Yet despite these differences they have exhibited remarkable similarities in their patterns of de-

Postponement of Death-Reply

In Reply.— We appreciate Dr Man's providing evidence that supports our statistical findings on the postponement of death. These insights into Chinese cultural practices should prove valuable in generating additional lines of research. We should perhaps note one small inaccuracy in Dr Man's letter; we did not in fact restrict our computerized data set to San Diego Chinese but examined all deaths among Chinese throughout California from 1960 through 1984. We agree with Dr Man that a study of rural China would have been preferable, but computerized data on this area are not available, as far as we know.

Postponement of death until symbolically meaningful occasions

Postponement of death until symbolically meaningful occasions

Effect of Cholesterol-Lowering Treatment on Coronary Heart Disease Morbidity and Mortality: The Evidence from Trials, and Beyond

Evidence from controlled clinical trials shows convincingly that reducing serum cholesterol levels by diet or drug treatment reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease. On a population basis, the most important effect of cholesterol lowering might be postponement of the first symptoms of disease rather than postponement of death, because most cardiac deaths occur at an advanced age. No enhanced cancer mortality is seen either in populations with low serum cholesterol levels or in patients who, through a genetic defect, have a low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol of zero. This makes it unlikely that cholesterol-lowering treatment as such promotes cancer. Still, specific side effects and toxicity of drugs need careful scrutiny, and diet remains the treatment of choice for mild hypercholesterolemia.

Infant mortality in a region of Finland, 1968-1982.

Infant mortality in a region of Finland with about 450,000 people and 5400 annual births was examined during a 15-year period, 1968-1982. Total infant mortality declined from 15.8 per 1000 live births in 1968 to 5.0 in 1982. The lowering of neonatal mortality accounted for the decline, as postneonatal mortality remained at the same level throughout the study period. Despite a decrease of nearly 80%, perinatal disorders remained the leading category of primary causes of death. Mortality from congenital malformations decreased by 50%, mortality from sudden infant death syndrome increased from 0.2 to 0.9 per 1000 live births while mortality from accidents, infectious diseases and other diseases remained minor causes of death with no change in frequency. In the low birth weight category, postponement of deaths from early to late neonatal and postneonatal periods occurred, but total infant mortality in the low birth weight category declined by about 60%. During the last two 3-year periods, decrease in birth weight-specific infant mortality was found in the 500-999 g and greater than 2500 g categories. The reasonably high standard of living, good educational level of mothers, well organized primary maternal and child health services and the rapid advances in obstetric and neonatal care equally available and regionalized, have contributed to the favourable progress in infant mortality in Finland.

The subjective in medicine.

Recently, psychiatry has begun to attain a modicum of credibility among physicians and surgeons, at least to extent that it has become a more biological specialty. As psychiatrists call on positron emission tomography and dexamethasone suppression tests for diagnosis and employ a profusion of neurotransmitter agonists and antagonists in therapy, they have begun to look more like real doctors. Thus, in considering what I should say, I was tempted to write as a neurobiologist. As one of a small company who, during halcyon days of psychoanalysis, had insisted that brain is in skull for reasons other than for ballast to keep it from floating off into space, I might have been expected to be an enthusiast for new psychiatry. Unfortunately, biological psychiatry threatens to become so myopic in its clinical vision that it may well substitute a mindless psychiatry of future for brainless psychiatry of past. In its zeal to emulate biomedicine, psychiatry has begun to rival it in its disregard for psychological content and social context of sickness. Therefore, I have chosen to reemphasize irreducible role of subjective in medicine. Dr. Donald Seldin, distinguished former president of Association of American Physicians, has defined goals of medicine as the relief of pain, prevention of disability, and postponement of death by application of theoretical knowledge incorporated in medical science to individual patients [I]. He emphasizes that medicine is a narrow discipline properly restricted to correction of biomedical derangements and that its fundamental interactions are face-to-face. He makes clear that his definition excludes from medicine aggregate disciplines which influence health through social and cultural forces. Although he acknowledges that a priestly function [2] is a vital component of medicine, he does not regard it as a formal domain of

A Dip in Deaths Before Ceremonial Occasions: Some New Relationships Between Social Integration and Mortality

This paper presents evidence that there are fewer deaths than expected before three ceremonial occasions: the birthday, Presidential elections, and the Jewish Day of Atonement. The investigation of mortality before the birthday was based on biographical information on 1,333 famous persons; official vital statistics tables were used to study mortality before the other two occasions. Alternative explanations of our findings are examined; the evidence suggests that the dip in deaths before ceremonies results from some persons'postponement of death. These results are interpreted in terms of Durkheim 's discussion of social integration and ceremonies.

The Prevention or Postponement of Death from Heart Failure

The Prevention or Postponement of Death from Heart Failure