title: Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? Retrospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the "27 club" hypothesis that famous musicians are at an increased risk of death at age 27. Design Cohort study using survival analysis with age as a time dependent exposure. Comparison was primarily made within musicians, and secondarily relative to the general UK population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The popular music scene from a UK perspective.
  
  
  METHODS
  Musicians (solo artists and band members) who had a number one album in the UK between 1956 and 2007 (n = 1046 musicians, with 71 deaths, 7%).
  
  
  METHODS
  Risk of death by age of musician, accounting for time dependent study entry and the number of musicians at risk. Risk was estimated using a flexible spline which would allow a bump at age 27 to appear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified three deaths at age 27 amongst 522 musicians at risk, giving a rate of 0.57 deaths per 100 musician years. Similar death rates were observed at ages 25 (rate = 0.56) and 32 (0.54). There was no peak in risk around age 27, but the risk of death for famous musicians throughout their 20s and 30s was two to three times higher than the general UK population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 27 club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon. Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27.
authors.affiliation: Freiburg Center of Data Analysis and Modelling, University of Freiburg and Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolkewitz
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allignol
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.forename: Adrian G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult