Is there a "birthday effect" on the death rate of old people?

Long ago, I heard that when people get old, they tend to hold out until just after their birthday to die. The phenomena even had a name, the birthday effect. When a GD thread prompted me to look up the current status of this story, I [www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol1/3/1-3.pdf++"death+rate"+"birthday+effect"&hl=en&ie=UTF-8]found](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:JiCasOcC1kIJ:[url) this:

Odd variations in the deathrate depending on month of birth aside, what’s the concensus on the birthday effect? Does it happen in the US, or is the whole theory now outmoded and discredited?

Link went bad AFTER preview :confused:
Longevity and Month of Birth

The whole idea of “hold on” vs “let go” in death is pretty controversial. It’s like the paranormal. You want to believe, but…
Peace,
mangeorge