Do Elite Athletes Live Longer? A Systematic Review of Mortality and Longevity in Elite Athletes

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding of an athlete’s lifespan is limited with a much more sophisticated knowledge of their competitive careers and little knowledge of post-career outcomes. In this review, we consider the relationship between participation at elite levels of sport and mortality risk relative to other athletes and age- and sex-matched controls from the general population. Our objective was to identify, collate, and disseminate a comprehensive list of risk factors associated with longevity and trends and causes of mortality among elite athletes.MethodsEnglish language articles were searched using the Web of Science database. Keywords athletes, death, elite, “high performance” life expect*, longevity, mortality, players, professional, and sport were used to locate research articles. Seventeen additional articles were retrieved from reference lists found in these papers and a general web search. The inclusion criteria were the following: (1) publication year 1980 or later; (2) the study examined elite-level athletes; and (3) outcome data measured mortality/longevity trends and/or causes.ResultsFifty-four peer-reviewed publications and three articles from online sources met the criteria for inclusion. Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and cycling had the most reported data on elite athletes’ lifespan longevities. A variety of mechanisms have attempted to explain mortality risk (e.g., handedness, playing position, achievement, etc.). Considerable support was found for superior longevity outcomes for elite athletes, particularly those in endurance and mixed sports.ConclusionsFuture research into the mechanisms that may affect mortality risk is important for a better understanding of life expectancies in both eminent and non-eminent populations. Participation in elite sport is generally favorable to lifespan longevity.Key PointsA majority of studies included in this review reported superior lifespan longevity outcomes for elite athletes compared to age- and sex-matched controls from the general population and other athletes.Several mechanisms within and between sports may have powerful effects on the overall lifespan longevities of players (e.g., type of sport, playing position, race, and energy system).Future research on mortality in elite athletes would benefit from more comprehensive statistical measures and reliable databases to determine potential mechanisms that may influence mortality trends and causes in both athlete and non-athlete samples.

The Acute Risks of Exercise in Apparently Healthy Adults and Relevance for Prevention of Cardiovascular Events

“…Despite these observations, even elite endurance athletes who perform extremely high exercise volumes have lower mortality rates 49 and improved longevity compared with the general population. 50 Collectively, these observations have complicated the understanding of the risk-benefit relationship between PA and morbidity or mortality risks. However, there is clear evidence of various health benefits and risk reduction conferred from vigorous exercise that outweighs the risks of exercise in most of the population.…”

Mean Age of Death, Longevity and Incidence of Violent Death Among Various Elite Sportsmen Categories

“…In comprehensive review on mortality and longevity in elite athletes [6] it was shown significant differences depending on sport specialty. An important challenge to mortality research in sport is the lack of data on the health behavior of athletes post retirement.…”

“…During last years considerable attention was paid to the athlete life span and longevity [2][3][4][5][6][7]. It was shown that some elite sportsmen live longer however another sportsman live shortly than people does not involved big sport.…”

“…The rate of accidentdependent death was maximal among climbing and auto-motosportsmen (34.3% and 30.27%) that correlate with high risk of traumas in these sports. 14.7% of accidence death was among skis sportsmen, 9.88% of accident death was among bike riders, and 8.29% at equestrain sports and minimal-among fields hockey (1.00) and cricket players (1.13).In comprehensive review on mortality and longevity in elite athletes [6] it was shown significant differences depending on sport specialty. An important challenge to mortality research in sport is the lack of data on the health behavior of athletes post retirement.…”

“…65% to 70% of rate of aging and longevity of humans determined by social and economic conditions and life style [1] whereas genetic factors have an important but significantly smaller impact on aging [8]. Lorry drivers, miners, seamen, and some other professionals have a feature of accelerated aging and increased risk of premature death [6]. At the same time, persons which received public signs of their success or excellence from a state or from professional societies (Nobel prize winners, Oscar or popular competitions winners, members of national academies, etc) live longer than ordinary citizens [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”