Does Education Matter? Major League Baseball Players and Longevity

Abstract

The authors used duration analysis to examine the longevity of Major League Baseball players. Using data on players who were born between 1945 and 1964, the authors found that the hazard rate of death for players who only attended high school was almost 2.0 times higher than those players who attended a 4-year university, evidence that the educaton [sic]-health link applies to professional athletes. Another important determinant of longevity was race. In addition, a player's body mass index was positively associated with a higher hazard of death. Compared with the general population, the death rate of baseball players was lower--the observed number of deaths in the dataset was only 31% of the expected number. Findings in this article are likely attributable to education being correlated with other variables that affect longevity, most likely intelligence and time preference.

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

“…Aside from the studies or reviews that examined multiple sports, professional baseball players ( n = 16), football players (4 peer-reviewed, 2 online), soccer players ( n = 4), basketball players ( n = 3), and cyclists ( n = 3) were identified through our literature search as having the most reported data on elite athletes’ mortality outcomes. In particular, MLB players [ 15 , 36 , 38 , 45 – 47 ], NFL players [ 12 , 19 , 49 , 62 ], cyclists [ 13 , 27 , 28 ], NBA players [ 10 , 48 ], and golfers [ 11 , 21 ] had the most robust evidence of greater longevity. These LE benefits generally ranged from 4 to 8 years [e.g., 36 and 28, respectively].…”

“…Further, weight also influenced the lifespan longevities of baseball players [ 61 , 69 ] and played a role in the longevities of Japanese sumo wrestlers, although its influence appeared to be small [OR = 1.08, CI 1.01–1.15; 57]. With regard to athlete race, this has been shown to be associated with longevity in NBA [ 10 ] and NFL players [ 19 ], as well as with education and longevity in MLB players [ 45 ]. Sixth, high achievement in sport emerged as a determinant of mortality, specifically through winning percentage in Japanese sumo wrestlers [ 57 ], handicap in Swedish golfers [ 11 ], and Hall of Fame (HOF) induction in a diverse range of sports [ 37 , 59 ].…”

“…; 80.4 ± SE = 3.0) lived significantly longer ( F [2904] = 3.7, P < 0.03, two-tailed) by 13 years than players ( n = 30) with negative initials (e.g., D.E.D. ; 67.0 ± SE = 3.1) or players ( n = 864) with neutral initials (67.1 ± SE = 0.5); players with positive initials lived significantly longer than their matched controls and those with negative initials ( P < 0.05); (died before 1950) -- MLB a Boren and Erickson [ 41 ] (1998) 28 The most common toxin that lead to death by poisoning was carbon monoxide; low overall risk (death 1889–1995) -- MLB a Fudin et al [ 42 ] (1993) 1686 In response to Halpern and Coren’s [ 43 ] study: Left-handers ( n = 235) had a M longevity of 64.46 years (SD = 15.34) right-handers ( n = 1451), a difference of 38.57 days ( t [1684] = 0.09, P > 0.05 for compared to 64.56 years (SD = 15.02) for years lived; Halpern and Coren [ 43 ] reported a difference of 244.72 days); (considered longevity data through 1978) -- MLB a Halpern and Coren [ 43 ] (1988) 1708 M age at death for right-handers was 64.64 years ( n = 1472; SD = 15.5) and 63.97 years for left-handers ( n = 236; SD = 15.4), a significant difference ( Z = 6.63, P < 0.001) -- MLB a Hicks et al [ 44 ] (1994) 5441 In response to Fudin et al’s [ 42 ] study: Reliable data were confirmed for 3501 right-handers (64.3 %), 1199 mixed-handers (22.0 %) and 741 left-handers (13.6 %); the differences in M days of life were not significant in each group (F[2,5338] = .59, P = 0.55) and between just right- and left-handers ( t [4240] = −1.08, P = 0.28; M longevity less for right-handers) -- MLB a Kalist and Peng [ 45 ] (2007) 2641 Greater longevity overall (SMR = 0.31); positive relationship between education and longevity (HR = 0.74, CI 0.56–0.977); black players had a HR 2.47 times greater than white players (1963–1996 debut) ↑ MLB a ...…”

“…For example, Smith [ 30 ] discovered a substantial portion of missing death date data (e.g., unknown death dates) in former MLB players in the Sean Lahman Baseball Archive [ 74 ]. Unfortunately, Smith’s [ 30 ] critique of Abel and Kruger’s [ 37 ] conclusion (cases without death date data were treated as living players) that HOF non-inductees had a 5-year lifespan longevity advantage was not the only study on MLB player longevity that used the same database (e.g., [ 17 , 35 , 36 , 38 – 40 , 45 ]). Although it may be premature to conclude that other databases have similar fallibility (e.g., missing death date data), we must be cautious of the possible incongruency between reported and unreported/unknown death date data in other studies that bias lifespan longevity results.…”

Elite Athletes Live Longer Than the General Population: A Meta-Analysis

“…For instance, former Finnish elite athletes were more physically active during leisure time, smoked less, consumed less alcohol, and had a healthier diet than their referents. 35 Another important limitation arises from the absence of information on specific cause of death in 3 studies 15,16,19 (accounting for w14% of the total meta-analysis sample) and, especially, from the observed heterogeneity among studies for all-cause pooled SMR as well as for SMR due to cancer. A reason explaining such heterogeneity may be the large variability among studies in the sports phenotype of the cohorts, which included athletes participating in quite different sports specialties, that is, ranging from team sports with little aerobic component such as baseball to extreme endurance events such as Tour de France.…”