Table 2 Characteristics of pop stars sample by geographical region
CharacteristicsTotalEuropeNorth Americap*
Sample size (n)1064503561
Main country (%)UK and USA, 94.64UK, 94.43USA, 94.830.773
Year of birth (median)1957195719560.597
Year of fame (median)1981198019850.164
Male (%)90.9892.2589.840.171
White (%)88.5397.0280.93<0.001
Pop genre (%)
    Rock89.7694.8385.2<0.001
    R&B3.850.46.95<0.001
    Electronica1.883.380.53<0.001
    New age0.380.800.106
    Punk0.280.600.21
    Rap3.8507.31<0.001
Dead 31/12/2005 (%)9.45.5712.83<0.001
Likely cause of death (% of dead)
    Chronic disorder (drug/alcohol)†83.579.720.544
    Drug/alcohol overdose1928.5715.280.128
    Accident (drug/alcohol related)47.142.780.665
    Other accident1621.4313.890.535
    Suicide33.572.780.657
    Violence63.576.940.867
    Cardiovascular disease143.5718.060.12
    Cancer2021.4319.440.823
    Other107.1411.110.823
  • *p (probability) describes differences between North American and European pop stars. Medians are compared using Mann Whitney U tests, while percentages are compared using χ2.

  • †Chronic drug and alcohol disorders include liver, kidney and gastrointestinal diseases explicitly linked with substance use. Many of those deaths classed as suicides, violence related and other accidents, while likely to be linked with substance use, have only been categorised as alcohol- and drug-associated where references specifically detailed the link.