The general elections from which the next president of the Kingdom of Spain will be elected are just around the corner, and four are the candidates running for head of government.

But Mariano Rajoy, Pablo Iglesias, Albert Rivera and Pedro Sánchez should pay attention to the following lines, since a recent investigation seems to indicate that becoming president of a nation shortens life .

Does being president shorten life expectancy?

So, since only one of the four can win the election, those who are not fortunate enough to be elected as the highest representatives of the executive branch will have at least one reason to smile.

This is not the first study in this line of research

There has long been a debate about whether presidents have shorter life expectancies, and science has conducted various investigations to confirm or disprove this hypothesis . For example, one study stated that presidents age twice as fast as people who do not hold this position. On the other hand, another study found no relationship between premature aging and the position of head of government.

In any case, it is enough to see some pictures of presidents of the government at the beginning and at the end of their mandates to realize that their physical deterioration is evident. One of the most commented cases is that of former socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero . In the image on the left, the president with the eyebrow at 48 years old. On the right, 55 years old (current photo). Doesn’t it seem that more time has passed?

Recently, this new research has brought this debate back to the table. It has examined the electoral processes carried out in 17 countries from 1722 to 2015. The results seem to indicate that the presidents of the government live an average of 2.7 years less and experience a 23% higher risk of suffering a premature death than the person who is at the head of the opposition. Presidents like Barak Obama or Rafael Correa should take note of these results.

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)

The research appears in a special Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Its annual Christmas edition features rare but scientifically sound themes.

“We are certain that there are differences between the mortality rates of state presidents and their rivals, that is, that heads of government age faster,” says Anupam Jena, author of the study and professor at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. The study also included Andrew Olesku, a researcher at the same university, and Matthew Abola, a medical student at Case Western Reserve University.

The authors did something new from past research

Although this is not a new issue, the authors of the research did something different to quantify the hypothesis, as it is complicated to test. Instead of comparing a president or a prime minister with the general population, they compared the data of the presidents with their opponents . This was done because if we compare the presidents, who are usually people of high social status, with the rest of the people, there could be an important bias, that is, the results obtained would not be significant.

In addition, the researchers also broadened their focus by comparing the heads of government of 17 relatively stable countries in Western democracies, rather than limiting the study to U.S. presidents. It is important to note that the researchers did not consider dictators, but democratically elected presidents. It is clear, however, that this should also be checked with presidents from other continents, such as those from Latin America or Asia.

The cause could be stress suffered by presidents

The authors of the study acknowledged that n o could find the exact reasons why presidents don’t live as long as their rivals. But it is possible that the cause is stress. “Their hectic schedules and pace of work make it difficult for presidents to lead healthy lifestyles. They find it difficult to maintain a healthy eating and exercise routine,” concludes Anupam Jena.

Being a politician can be a very tiring job. Continuous travel, problems that affect a whole country, continuous exposure to the public eye, etc. So, being president of the government can have its good points, but it is also a very big responsibility, which can be stressful.