Research from the 1980s claimed that left-handers live shorter lives than right-handers. However, these studies have been criticized for methodological problems. A 1991 study by Diane Halpern and Stanley Coren suggested that left-handed people live about 9 years shorter. Research It was criticized for collecting data on the elderly population in particular. As left-handedness is less common, the proportion of right-handers was higher among the elderly. This led to a lack of randomness in sample selection and misleading results.
No Direct Relationship Between Left-Handedness and Life Span
Subsequent studies, using large sample groups, found no significant relationship between left-handedness and life expectancy. Left-handedness is a combination of genetic and environmental factors that determine which hand an individual’s brain uses more dominantly. However, these characteristics do not have a direct impact on life expectancy.
An overview of the scientific literature shows that old beliefs about the effect of being left-handed on life expectancy are based on methodological errors and are not reliable.