title: Do Elite Athletes Live Longer? A Systematic Review of Mortality and Longevity in Elite Athletes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Understanding of an athlete's lifespan is limited with a much more sophisticated knowledge of their competitive careers and little knowledge of post-career outcomes. In this review, we consider the relationship between participation at elite levels of sport and mortality risk relative to other athletes and age- and sex-matched controls from the general population. Our objective was to identify, collate, and disseminate a comprehensive list of risk factors associated with longevity and trends and causes of mortality among elite athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  English language articles were searched using the Web of Science database. Keywordsathletes,death,elite,"high performance"life expect*,longevity,mortality,players,professional, andsportwere used to locate research articles. Seventeen additional articles were retrieved from reference lists found in these papers and a general web search. The inclusion criteria were the following: (1) publication year 1980 or later; (2) the study examined elite-level athletes; and (3) outcome data measured mortality/longevity trends and/or causes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-four peer-reviewed publications and three articles from online sources met the criteria for inclusion. Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and cycling had the most reported data on elite athletes' lifespan longevities. A variety of mechanisms have attempted to explain mortality risk (e.g., handedness, playing position, achievement, etc.). Considerable support was found for superior longevity outcomes for elite athletes, particularly those in endurance and mixed sports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future research into the mechanisms that may affect mortality risk is important for a better understanding of life expectancies in both eminent and non-eminent populations. Participation in elite sport is generally favorable to lifespan longevity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A majority of studies included in this review reported superior lifespan longevity outcomes for elite athletes compared to age- and sex-matched controls from the general population and other athletes.Several mechanisms within and between sports may have powerful effects on the overall lifespan longevities of players (e.g., type of sport, playing position, race, and energy system).Future research on mortality in elite athletes would benefit from more comprehensive statistical measures and reliable databases to determine potential mechanisms that may influence mortality trends and causes in both athlete and non-athlete samples.
authors: School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 ON Canada.
authors: Srdjan
authors: S
authors: Lemez
authors: School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 ON Canada.
authors: Joseph
authors: J
authors: Baker
keywords: Athletes; Death; Elite; Longevity; Mortality