[Life span and longevity in representatives of creative professions]

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Sociology
• Longevity studies

Background:

• Investigating lifespan differences across creative professions is crucial for understanding health disparities.
• Historical trends in life expectancy for artists, musicians, writers, and scientists are not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and compare the mean age of death across diverse creative professions.
• To identify factors influencing longevity within these groups, including gender and historical period.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of mortality data for 49,064 individuals across visual arts, music, writing, and science.
• Statistical comparison of mean age of death between professions, genders, and historical eras (1st to 20th century).

Main Results:

• Scientists exhibited the longest lifespan, while writers and poets had the shortest.
• Women generally lived longer than men across all studied professional categories.
• Life expectancy has gradually increased across professions from the 1st to the 20th century, with notable gains in the 20th century for visual artists and scientists.
• Nobel laureates, academicians, and conductors were among the longest-living men, whereas rock musicians and poets had significantly shorter lifespans.
• Conductors, harpists, and academicians were among the longest-living women, with rock musicians and singers of author's songs having shorter lifespans.
• The proportion of nonagenarians and centenarians was higher among women than men, particularly in professions like harpists, conductors, and academicians.

Conclusions:

• Higher intellect and education correlate with increased lifespan and longevity.
• Significant disparities in life expectancy exist among creative professionals, influenced by profession, gender, and historical context.
• The study highlights the importance of considering specific occupational and demographic factors in longevity research.