Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for selfie with workers before he greets refugees from Syria at Pearson International airport, in Toronto. (AP PHOTO)
LONDON — Leading a country comes with extraordinary privileges but also, apparently, a price: new research suggests that heads of state age faster than normal and that the stress of the job may shave almost three years off their life expectancy.
Doctors analyzed how long presidents and prime ministers in 17 countries — including Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the US — survived after leaving office, compared to the losing candidates. They also observed the number of years that heads of state lived versus what was expected for someone of the same age and gender.
After considering the fates of 279 heads of state and 261 runner-ups, they concluded former leaders lived for almost three fewer years than expected. The study was published online Monday in the medical journal, The BMJ.
“To lose a few years is significant,” said Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical School, the study’s senior author.
“(Leaders) probably felt national priorities were much more pressing than eating right and exercising,” he said, saying former US President Bill Clinton’s admitted weakness for fast food may have resulted in “stress eating.”