there is an anecdotal “Passover Effect” where death rates for the elderly and terminally ill seem to fall before significant holidays and people’s own birthdays, then rise as the holidays end.
portion of article from the Jewish Weekly:
“A desire to participate in Passover can prolong a person’s life, according to a professor of sociology at U, David Phillips believes that older people can, in effect, postpone death in order to participate in an important occasion — be
In an 18-year research project, Phillips studied the mortality rates of nearly 2,000 Californian Jews.
He found that the death rate dipped 35 percent below normal in the week before Passover and peaked by an equal percentage above normal in the week following the holiday. The study was published in the Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal.
“It is my hypothesis that those nearing death may feel that an extended family gathering at Passover offers the chance of saying hello and goodbye for the last time,” says Phillips.”