Famous singers, at least in Europe and North Americaseem to die about four years earlier than those who do not achieve that notoriety and, precisely, fame itself could be a factor associated with a higher risk of mortality.
That is the conclusion of an observational study, that is, it does not establish causality, led by the Witten/Herdecke University in Germany, which publishes the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, from the BMJ group.
“By comparing famous and less famous singers with similar backgrounds, this study suggests that fame, in itself, may contribute to an increased risk of mortality, beyond the risks associated with being a professional musician,” the article states.
The results showed that “famous singers had a 33% higher risk of mortality” compared to less famous ones.
For the research, the risk of death was retrospectively compared among 648 singers, half of whom had achieved celebrity status and the other half had not.
The celebrity sample was extracted from the acclaimedmusic.net database, and The researchers chose singers active between 1950 and 1990 to collect enough follow-up information on the risk of death by the end of December 2023.
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The analysis indicates that on average famous singers survived until they were 75 years old, while the less famous ones survived until they were 79, the magazine highlights.
The team believes that “being famous seems so detrimental that it negates any potential benefits associated with high socioeconomic status.”
Taken together, the analyzes indicate that “elevated risk arises specifically after achieving fame,” highlighting this factor “as a possible temporal turning point for health risks, including mortality”.
One explanation for the results could lie in “the unique psychosocial stress that accompanies fame, such as intense public scrutiny, pressure to perform, and loss of privacy,” the authors write.
These stressors “can fuel psychological distress and harmful coping behaviors, turning fame into a chronic burden that amplifies existing occupational risk.”
Each of the 324 selected stars was matched by year of birth, gender, nationality, ethnicity, musical genre, and status as a soloist or lead singer of a band with their lesser-known peers.
The majority (83.5%) were men; more than half (61%) came from North America, and the rest from Europe or the United Kingdom. The majority were white (77%), only 19% were black and 4% belonged to other ethnicities or were mixed race.
65% did rock; 14% R&B; 9% pop; 6% new wave; 4% trap and 2% electronic.
The researchers acknowledge as limitations of their study that it was not global and was limited to singers, meaning their observations may not be applicable to other regions of the world or other areas of fame, such as acting or sports.