The Relationship Between an Individual's Birthday and Admission for Traumatic Injury

Abstract

Background: Birthdays provide an opportunity to celebrate; however, they can also be associated with various adverse medical events. This is the first study to examine the association between birthdays and in-hospital trauma team evaluation.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed trauma registry patients 19-89 years of age, who were evaluated by in-hospital trauma services from 1/1/2011 to 12/31/2021.

Results: 14,796 patients were analyzed and an association between trauma evaluation and birthdays was found. The strongest incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were on the day of birth (IRR: 1.78; P < .001) followed by ±3 days of the birthday (IRR: 1.21; P = .003). When incidence was analyzed by age groups, 19-36 years of age had the strongest IRR (2.30; P < .001) on their birthday, followed by the >65 groups (IRR: 1.34; P = .008) within ±3 days. Non-significant associations were seen in the 37-55 (IRR: 1.41; P = .209) and 56-65 groups (IRR: 1.60; P = .172) on their birthday. Patient-level characteristics were only significant for the presence of ethanol at trauma evaluation (risk ratio: 1.83; P = .017).

Discussion: Birthdays and trauma evaluations were found to have a group-dependent association, with the greatest incidence for the youngest age group being on their birthday, and the oldest age group within ±3 days. The presence of alcohol was found to be the best patient-level predictor of trauma evaluation.

Keywords: alcohol; birthdays; falls; injury prevention; trauma.