Study: Facial attractiveness linked to mortality risk, but the most attractive gain no advantage

Researchers have examined whether a person's appearance may be connected to how long they live. A new study suggests such a link does exist, but it doesn't match the common assumption that more attractive people simply live longer.

A long-term study in Wisconsin

The researchers drew on data from a long-running study involving 8,386 people who graduated from high school in Wisconsin, USA, in 1957. Participants were tracked for decades, until their death or the study's conclusion in 2022. Independent raters assessed facial attractiveness using the participants' high school yearbook photos, sorting them into six groups ranging from least to most attractive.

Higher risk only for the least attractive group

Comparing these groups against US National Death Index records revealed that people in the least attractive group had a 16.8% higher mortality risk than those in the four middle attractiveness groups. However, the most attractive people showed no added benefit — their mortality risk did not differ meaningfully from those rated as average in attractiveness.

Using a life-table method, researchers calculated that for women at age 20 in the least attractive group, life expectancy was nearly two years shorter than for other female participants. For men, the gap was smaller — nearly one year shorter.

Possible explanations

The analysis also accounted for other factors, including high school performance, intelligence, family background, adult income, and physical and mental health in midlife. Even after adjusting for these, the link between low attractiveness ratings and higher mortality risk persisted. Researchers suggest that appearance may reflect underlying biological factors connected to health, as well as attitudes toward one's own health and life in general.

The researchers caution against simplifying the findings into a claim that "attractive people live longer" — the statistically significant difference appeared only between the least attractive group and the rest, not between average and highly attractive individuals.