Mr Perfect, The Ultimate Warrior and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper may sound like names from a comic book, but the cognoscenti will recognise them as former superstars of the world of professional wrestling. All of them also died unexpectedly and at a relatively young age.
Mr Perfect died in 2003 of acute cocaine intoxication at the age of 44. The Ultimate Warrior died last year of a heart attack, aged 54. Most recent to go was "Rowdy" Roddy Piper who died suddenly on 31 July of a heart attack. He was 61.
So do former wrestlers die younger than athletes who take part in other sports?
"Yes the statistical evidence is quite strong when we look at the mortality rate for wrestlers compared to other sports and the general population," says John Moriarty of Manchester University.
Researchers like Moriarty face some difficulties getting hold of data, as no official body collects statistics about the deaths of those who have spent a career in the ring.
His approach has been to aggregate the findings of others who have studied the problem.
He points to research by academics at the University of Eastern Michigan who studied a group of 557 former wrestlers.
Of the 62 wrestlers in this group who died between 1985 and 2011, 49 died before -READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33817959
No comments:
Post a Comment