CHICAGO - In a research letter appearing in the Dec. 7 issue of JAMA, S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, examined the question that U.S. Presidents may experience accelerated aging while in office by analyzing the life span of all U.S. Presidents compared to men of their era. Among his findings were that 23 of 34 presidents who died of natural causes lived beyond the average life expectancy for men of the same age when they were inaugurated. Suggested reasons for this greater longevity include access to better medical care and higher levels of education and wealth, which have been documented to have powerful effects on longevity.
(JAMA. 2011;306[21]:2325-2326. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
To contact S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., call Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez at 312-996-8277 or email smcginn@uic.edu.
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JAMA