Studie über 3 Millionen Menschen aus Finnland zeigt, dass Nichtwähler tendenziell früher sterben. Dieser Sterblichkeitsunterschied zwischen Wählern und Nichtwählern war sogar noch größer als der gut dokumentierte Unterschied zwischen Personen mit dem höchsten und dem niedrigsten Bildungsniveau.
Study of 3 million people finds non-voters tend to die earlier
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I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2025/10/28/jech-2025-224663
From the linked article:
**Study of 3 million people finds non-voters tend to die earlier**
A new study of more than three million people in Finland has revealed a strong association between not voting and an increased risk of death over a 21-year period. The analysis showed that **this mortality gap between voters and non-voters was even larger than the well-documented gap between individuals with the highest and lowest levels of education**. The findings were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
The results showed a clear and substantial difference in mortality risk. After adjusting for age, men who did not vote in the 1999 election had a 73 percent higher mortality rate over the following 21 years compared to men who did vote. For women, the difference was also significant, with non-voters having a 63 percent higher mortality rate than their voting counterparts.
When the researchers introduced education into their statistical models, the association between voting and mortality remained very strong. The elevated mortality risk for non-voters was only slightly reduced, suggesting that education did not account for the majority of the difference.
The mortality disparity between voters and non-voters proved to be wider than the mortality disparity between individuals with a basic education and those who had completed tertiary education, a finding that highlights the powerful connection between this form of civic engagement and health outcomes.
The association was even more pronounced when the researchers looked at specific causes of death. The risk of dying from “external” causes, a category that includes accidents, violence, and alcohol-attributable conditions, was more than double for non-voters compared to voters. This finding points toward potential links between non-voting and certain behaviors or environmental risks.
The analysis also uncovered nuances related to age and gender. The mortality gap between voters and non-voters was widest among younger adults, those under 50 years old. In another notable finding, women aged 75 and older who did not vote had a higher risk of death than men of the same age who did vote. This is an unusual pattern, as women typically have a longer life expectancy than men at all ages.
Overlooked takeaway:
People that live high-risk lifestyles tend not to vote.
This is absolutely expected – voting and lifespan are both influenced by lifestyle, mindset or some other confounding variable. And whatever that variable is, it is much more latent and abstract than the usual gender, age and education that was controlled for in the study. There is still no direct causality between voting and death if that is what someone takes away from this.
In the US, I didn’t vote because the only ones who represented my ideals were third party and no third party can make it past the Electoral College.
In Canada I’m far more represented by parties that hold seats and am more likely to vote. I’m educated, and I think that’s part of why I’m weary of voting for the status quo.
The bedridden cancer patient when asked why they didn’t vote: „…..“
In Argentina, in some places the dead still vote
Makes sense. Voting is a barrier. People who are better off are more likely to pass through that barrier.
Inability to see long term consequences?