Mortality of members of Parliament.

In 1966-67 a number of members of Parliament died suddenly. This prompted a two-phase enquiry into any possible excess mortality in this group and into what factors might be responsible. The first part of the enquiry, the results of a postal questionnaire on the health and way of life of M.P.s, has already been published (Wright and Pincherle, 1968). This paper presents the results of the second phase, the mortality experience of M.P.s. Material and Methods All persons elected to the House in August 1945 or subsequently were considered for inclusion. Any who did not actually take their seat (by reason of death, resignations, disqualification or elevation to the peerage) were excluded. Included in the study and followed up to the end of 1967 were 1,418 members (male and female), whether they were still sitting members or not. The Times Guide to the House of Commons gives a complete list of elected members for all election years and indica tions of intervening by-elections. Other standard works give the date of death of members or the fact that they were alive at the end of 1966. The obituary columns of The Times (who assured us that they always do an obituary on ex-M.P.s) were examined to give the 1967 deaths. Death certificates were obtained for all members who died in the British Isles. These were coded by the staff of the Registrar General according to the rules