Previous studies link success to longevity. Such a finding may sound ridiculous, just one more of those fanciful correlations that science turns up from time to time. But it is also possible that the finding is part of a broader message emerging from other studies. Scientists say that success, independent of money, can affect people's health.
Poor people have the worst health problems.
We are not saying people should take acting lessons to increase their longevity. Redelmeier said he got the idea for the study while watching the Academy Awards a few years ago. For comparison, Redelmeier and Singh picked other people of the same sex and of similar ages who'd acted in the same films. Nominees who missed the final prize lived no longer than those who never were in the running. Marmot said he wasn't familiar enough with the study's methodology to comment on it.