In a new multi-national study conducted by the University of Oxford, researchers found that politicians typically live longer than the general population.
Over the past decades, medical advancements that lead to increased life expectancies and the growing wealth disparity have sparked a renewed interest in whether or not certain “high-status” occupations are associated with better health.
The study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, collected and combined data on political figures from eleven high-income countries– including Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.S., and the U.K.
Each country had available data spanning from 1945 to 2017. However, the complete data analysis ranged from 1816 to 2017.
Over fifty-seven thousand politicians were used in this study, of which just over forty thousand have died.
The researchers first matched politicians’ countries of citizenship, age, and gender with mortality data from the same section of the national population during each respective time period.
Afterward, the team then compared the yearly frequency of deaths among politicians against the mortality rates of the general population.
The scientists’ analysis resulted in numerous significant findings. First, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, politicians and the general population had similar mortality rates.
But, this changed rapidly during the twentieth century as mortality rate differences grew more significant and political figures increasingly outlived the “non-elite.”
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Additionally, politicians’ survival advantages varied drastically depending on the country. For example, the general population of New Zealand is 1.2 times more likely to die within the next year than a politician who is the same age and gender. In Italy, that number nearly doubled– with the general population being 2.2 times more likely.
The easiest assumption to make about these health and subsequent life expectancy disparities is that they are due to income differences since politicians often earn well above the average general population salary.
However, the researchers believe there are other possible causes to consider since income inequality cannot explain the life expectancy differences prior to the 1940s.
In turn, the scientists have suggested that lifestyle factors– including diet and smoking– as well as the availability of improved therapies for conditions that most commonly affect politicians, may play a role.
No matter the reason, though, the study’s lead author Philip Clarke discussed how closing the life expectancy gap is what’s most important.
“Reducing health inequalities is high on the agenda of the U.K. government and many other governments. A key challenge will be to find ways to raise the life expectancy of the public to close gaps with elite groups, such as politicians,” Clarke said.
To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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By Katharina Buczek
Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing in... More about Katharina Buczek
