Baseball and basketball players who peak early, die early

Athletes who peaked at different ages, or whose skills declined at different rates, also seemed to age at different rates. Those who peaked later had mortality rates that doubled every 7.6 years of age. Also, the study found, athletes whose athletic skill declined at different rates also had very different mortality rates. This gap in mortality rates persisted for at least 40 years post-retirement. An unexpected finding was a positive association between height and late-life mortality rates in baseball and basketball players, meaning taller athletes were more likely to die earlier.