Objective: Comparison of the mortality of male members of the Polish Olympic teams with the general Polish male population for the period 1981-1998 and for two sub-periods 1981-1991 and 1992-1998.
Methods: Statistical approach based on the follow-up method. Comparison with the reference population (Polish males from urban areas) was made by means of the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and their 95% confidence intervals. The series test (Wald-Wolfowitz test) was applied to assess the mortality difference in 1981-1991 and 1992-1998.
Main observations: A total number of 1,769 male members of the Polish Olympic teams were identified. Of those, 148 died before 1981 and 116 were excluded from the analysis because of incomplete data records. Finally analyzed cohort included 1,505 athletes of the age 14-99 years, who contributed 21,575.8 person-years of observation. 131 deaths were noted during the analyzed period.
Results: Calculated SMR for the analyzed group of sportsmen was 0.420; 95% confidence interval: 0.351-0.498. All age-specific SMRs was lower than in general population. The athletes' mortality in 1992-1998 was significantly lower than in 1981-1991.
Conclusion: Polish participants in Olympic Games were proved to exhibit significantly lower mortality than general Polish male population throughout their life. The decrease in sportsmen mortality decrease in 1992-1998 was stronger than observed for the reference population.