European/US stars seem to die around 4 years earlier than those not in the limelight
Effects of fame comparable to certain other health risks, suggest the researchers
Fame itself may be a critical factor in shortening singers' lives beyond the hazards of the job-at least those in the UK/Europe and North America-suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
These stars seem to die around 4 years earlier, on average, than their peers who haven't achieved celebrity status, and the effects of fame are on a par with certain other health risks, suggest the researchers.
Previously published research indicates that famous singers tend to die earlier than the general public. But it's far from clear whether it's fame itself, the demands of the music industry, or the lifestyle associated with being a musician, which contribute to this heightened risk, explain the researchers.
To shed more light on this conundrum, they retrospectively compared the risk of death in 648 singers, half of whom had achieved celebrity status and half of whom hadn't.
Each of the 324 stars was matched for birth year, gender, nationality, ethnicity, music genre and solo/lead singer in a band status with their lesser known peers.
Most (83.5%) were male, and the average year of birth was 1949, but ranged from 1910 to 1975. Over half (61%) the singers were from North America, with the remainder from Europe/the UK. And most were White (77%), with only 19% being of Black and 4% of other or mixed ethnicities.
Most singers were in the Rock genre (65%), followed by R&B (14%), Pop (9%), New-Wave (6%), Rap (4%), and Electronica (2%). Over half (59%) the singers were in a band; 29% were solo artists; and 12% performed both solo and in a band.
The sample of famous singers was drawn from the Top 2000 Artists of All Time on acclaimedmusic.net, a database that aggregates global rankings based on published lists from music critics, journalists, and industry professionals, but not audience polls or sales data.
Only artists active after 1950 and before 1990 were included to gather sufficient tracking information on the risk of death by the end of December 2023.
Analysis of the data showed that, on average, famous singers survived until they were 75; less famous singers survived until they were 79.
While band membership was associated with a 26% lower risk of death compared with going it alone, the inclusion of this variable didn't influence the overall effect of fame, as famous singers were still 33% more likely to die earlier than their less well known counterparts.
Only two (0.6%) of the stars achieved fame posthumously, and the heightened risk of death started only once fame had been achieved and remained significantly associated throughout the period of fame.
This suggests that the heightened risk of death isn't attributable to baseline differences or to reverse causation, whereby earlier death contributes to fame, but that this risk emerges specifically after the attainment of fame, say the researchers.
"Together, the analyses indicate that an elevated risk emerges specifically after achieving fame, which highlights fame as a potential temporal turning point for health risks including mortality. Beyond occupational explanations, our findings suggest that fame adds further vulnerability within an already at-risk group," they explain.
The heightened risk associated with fame is comparable to other known health risks, such as occasional smoking, which confers a heightened risk of death of 34%, they add.
This is an observational study, and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. And the researchers acknowledge that their study sample wasn't global and was confined to singers, meaning that their observations might not apply to other regions of the world or to other domains of fame, such as acting or sport.
But a possible explanation for the findings may lie in "the unique psychosocial stress that accompanies fame, such as intense public scrutiny, performance pressure, and loss of privacy," they suggest.
"These stressors may fuel psychological distress and harmful coping behaviours, making fame a chronic burden that amplifies existing occupational risk," they add.
Fame brings with it significant financial security, a factor that is frequently associated with healthy ageing, while wealth is usually associated with a lower risk of premature death, they point out.
But they conclude: "Being famous appears so detrimental that it overrides any potential benefits associated with high socioeconomic status. Again, this highlights the increased vulnerability of famous individuals, suggesting a need for targeted protection and support for this population."
