Fazekas-Pongor, Vince;
Peterfi, Anna;
Major, David;
Szarvas, Zsofia;
Fekete, Monika;
Tabak, Adam G;
Csiszar, Anna;
... Ungvari, Zoltan; + view all
(2022)
Decreased lifespan in female "Munchkin" actors from the cast of the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz does not support the hypothesis linking hypopituitary dwarfism to longevity.
GeroScience
, 44
pp. 2527-2539.
10.1007/s11357-022-00680-7.
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Abstract
In laboratory mice, pituitary dwarfism caused by genetic reduction or elimination of the activity of growth hormone (GH) significantly extends lifespan. The effects of congenital pituitary dwarfism on human longevity are not well documented. To analyse the effects of untreated pituitary dwarfism on human lifespan, the longevity of a diverse group of widely known little people, the 124 adults who played “Munchkins” in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz was investigated. Survival of “Munchkin” actors with those of controls defined as cast members of The Wizard of Oz and those of other contemporary Academy Award winning Hollywood movies was compared. According to the Kaplan–Meier survival curves, survival of female and male “Munchkin” actors was shorter than cast controls and Hollywood controls of respective sexes. Cox regression analyses showed that female “Munchkin” actors had significantly higher risk ratios compared to both female cast controls (RR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.77) and female Hollywood controls (RR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.24). Similar trends were also discernible for men, albeit point estimates were not significant. The lack of lifespan extension in “Munchkin” actors does not support the hypothesis that hereditary GH deficiency regulates longevity in humans.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Decreased lifespan in female "Munchkin" actors from the cast of the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz does not support the hypothesis linking hypopituitary dwarfism to longevity |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11357-022-00680-7 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00680-7 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Munchkin · Dwarfsm · The Wizard of Oz |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Mental Health of Older People |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10160004 |
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