Do Brazilian Olympic athletes live longer than the general population? A retrospective cohort study

We investigated whether Brazilian Olympic athletes live longer than the general population and whether there are differences between sports. This retrospective cohort study was conducted with secondary data analysis. Data were included from Brazilian athletes of both sexes, from the 7th edition (1920) to the 25th edition (1992) of the Modern Olympic Games. We recorded details of gender, date of birth, date of death and sport in which they competed, when available. We compared athletes with age-matched controls from the general population; and between types of sport (strength/power [FP] vs. endurance/mixed [RM]). Brazilian Olympic athletes live approximately eight years longer than expected for the general population of the same age. However, there was no difference in life expectancy between FP (68.8 years) vs. RM (68.9 years) athletes (p>0.05). Brazilian Olympic athletes live longer than expected for the general population. However, there are no differences between athletes from different types of sport.