Lifespan of male attorneys: preliminary findings. (Original Article).

Background: Our objective was to test the hypotheses that trial attorneys have shorter lifespans than other attorneys, and that attorneys in general have a shortened lifespan compared with the general population.

Methods: Using obituaries from the Annual Report of the Virginia State Bar, we compared the lifespans of male trial attorneys with those of male non-trial attorneys. We also compared these findings with the lifespans of males in the general population.

Results: For white male attorneys in Virginia, the mean [+ or -] SD age at death was 66.2 [+ or -] 12.6 years for 250 trial attorneys and 65.0 [+ or -] 12.5 years for 598 non-trial attorneys. This was not statistically significant. The lifespans of both trial and non-trial attorneys exceeded those of the general population.

Conclusion: This small preliminary study showed that the occupation of male trial attorneys does not shorten their lives, and that male attorneys, in general, do not have shortened lifespans compared with the general population.

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A hierarchy of law job stress was established by Russek in 1962. (1) The level of job stress progressively increased according to specialty: 1) patent law, nontrial law (lowest level of stress); 2) other specialties (nonpatent, nontrial law); 3) trial law; and 4) general practice law (highest level of stress). Elwork and Benjamin (2) identified three areas of law stress: (1) generic environmental pressures (time pressures, work overload, competition); (2) environmental pressures specific to law (the adversary system, zealous advocacy); and (3) personality traits (type-A behavior, hostility, self-esteem level).

Methods

We reviewed obituaries from the Virginia State Bar for the 70-year period from 1895 through 1964. Because we found the obituaries of fewer than 10 female attorneys, we did not include women in our analysis. All attorneys in this study were white.

Results

Table 1 shows life expectancy for white male U.S. citizens reaching their 25th birthdays during the period from 1900 through 1902 and in subsequent decades. (3) These data are derived from reports by the National Center for Health Statistics. Data were not available for years before 1900. Table 2 shows mean ages at death of attorneys by decade from 1895 through 1964. Because the number of attorneys dying by decades increased over the 70-year study period, we corrected for proportions to arrive at a mean age at death of 63.7 years for attorneys. White male U.S. citizens alive at age 25 years in 1900 to 1902 could expect to live until mid 1938, dying at the age of 63.5 years (Table 1). Male attorneys dying in the decade 1935 through 1944 lived a mean of 66.7 years (Table 2). Comparable figures for white male U.S. citizens and male attorneys for subsequent decades were 63.8 years and 69 years, respectively, from 1909 through 1911, and 66.6 years and 66.6 years, respectively, from 1919 through 1921. At death, th e mean [+ or -] SD age of 250 Virginia trial attorneys was 66.2 [+ or -] 12.6 years, and the age of 598 nontrial attorneys was 65.0 [+ or -] 12.5 years (separate variance t = 1.277, P = 0.202).

Discussion

Longevity increased for male attorneys from 1895 through 1964. Comparison of attorneys with a similar group from the general population (Table 1) indicated that attorneys tended to live at least as long (and usually longer) then their general-population counterparts. After separating attorneys into those with and without trial law as a substantial part of their professional career, we found no difference in lifespans for these two groups. Both groups lived until their mid 60s. Several decades ago, investigators attempted to compare and contrast mental stress among those practicing the different occupational subspecialties of law. (1,4) More recently, longitudinal studies of law-school graduates have provided conflicting findings regarding the role of mental stress in the origin, progression, and outcome of coronary artery disease. (5)

Conclusion

The lifespan of attorneys tends to be greater than that of their counterparts in the general population, probably because. the attorneys are likely to come from a more affluent socioeconomic class, Even though the practice of law has changed over the years (as have work patterns in most other occupations), and even though the life of an attorney may be more stressful now than in times past, lifespan data do not suggest that this change has adversely affected the general health of attorneys. The lifespan of trial attorneys is not distinguishable from the lifespan of those in other legal specialties.

Table 1

Life expectancy of white male U.S. citizens reaching their 25th
birthdays during the indicated years (a)

                        Additional years of life
Years in which 25th       expectancy after age
birthdays were reached          25 years

1900-1902                        38.52
1909-1911                        38.79
1919-1921                        41.60
1929-1931                        41.98
1939-1941                        43.28
1949-1951                        44.93
1959-1961                        45.65

(a)Data from Armstrong. (3)

Table 2

Attorney's ages at death

           No. of attorneys       Mean age at
Decade         who died            death (yr)

1895-1904         70           59.5 [+ or -] 13.3
1905-1914         58           57.9 [+ or -] 13.0
1915-1924         66           61.3 [+ or -] 15.0
1925-1934         74           65.2 [+ or -] 13.5
1935-1944        153           66.7 [+ or -] 10.5
1945-1954        161           69.0 [+ or -] 10.1
1955-1964        266           66.6 [+ or -] 12.5
Total            848         65.4 (a) [+ or -] 12.5

(a)Corrected for proportions = 63.7 years.

Accepted May 28, 2002.

References

(1.) Russek HI. Emotional stress and coronary heart disease in American physicians, dentists, and lawyers. Am J Med Sci 1962;243:716-725.

(2.) Elwork A, Benjamin GAH. Lawyers in distress. J Psychiatry Law 1995; 23:205-229.

(3.) Armstrong RJ. Acturial Advisor, Hyattsville, MD, Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 1997.

(4.) Russek HI. Emotional stress and coronary heart disease in American physicians. Am J Med Sci 1960;240:711-721.

(5.) Barefoot JC, Dodge KA, Peterson BL, Dahlstrom WG, Williams RB Jr. The Cook-Medley hostility scale: Item content and ability to predict survival. Psychosom Med 1989;51:46-57.

RELATED ARTICLE: Key Points

* Perceived differences in levels of stress according to law specialty does not seem to alter the life expectancy of male attorneys.

* Male attorneys seem to live as long as, if not longer than, the general population.

* Additional studies are needed to verify these observations.

From the Departments of Psychiatry and Gerontology, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Reprint requests to W. Victor R. Vieweg, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 0710, Richmond, VA 23298-0710. Email: [e-mail]

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