27 Club of lost legends a 'myth', research shows
Wednesday December 21st, 2011
Being a best-selling musician is a risky business - with the odds of failing to reach 40 significantly increased, researchers say today.
But
the idea of a "27 Club" - marking the age at which musicians
are most likely to die - is a myth, according to the analysis.
Dr Adrian Barnett of Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and colleagues say in the British Medical Journal that the list of well known musicians who have died at age 27 may look like more than a coincidence.
Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Brian Jones are just a few members of the so-called "27 club".
But when the researchers studied death rates for 1,046 famous musicians, they found no peak at this age. Nevertheless, musicians in their 20s and 30s were two to three times more likely to die than the general UK population.
"This finding should be of international concern, as musicians contribute greatly to populations' quality of life, so there is immense value in keeping them alive (and working) as long as possible," they write.
Also among other quirky stories in the journal's Christmas edition, researchers find:
* Health policy makers in the Netherlands are consuming more than the average daily recommended salt intake, based on a study of work canteens. Their risk of early death from cardiovascular causes may be over a third higher than people who stick to the recommended intake.
* Cod liver oil may help treat tuberculosis due to its high infection-fighting vitamin D content. Results come from a study carried out in 1848.
* Beethoven's hearing loss may well have influenced his later music, as he began to favour middle and low frequency notes over high notes. On becoming completely deaf his music changed again, as he did not compose using piano at all.
* Finally, an ethics expert and a lawyer suggest that it is not too late to grant the dying wish of "the Irish giant" be buried at sea. Charles Byrne's skeleton has so far been kept at the Royal College of Surgeons to aid research on growth disorders.
Tags: Australia | Europe | General Health
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