A recent study, has found that celebrities have a shorter life span than any other group of people.

Fame, it comes with a lot of perks. The glitz and the glamor of stardom is the envy of many people, from the large paychecks to the adoration of fans. But for all the perks of infamy, there are downfalls. The invasion of privacy, the swarm of paparazzi, the bombardment of instant recognition and in some cases early death.

Recently a study published in QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, which was conducted by Professor Richard Epstein and Catherine Epstein found that celebrities having a successful career in the entertainment or sports fields tend to die at a younger age.

The study, which compiled 1,000 obituaries published in The New York Times between 2009 and 2011, dividing the information of gender, age, occupation and cause of death into four different categories – namely performance/sport, non-performing creative that includes writers/composers, business/political/military and professional/religious/academic

What the researchers learned from analyzing the data was that those who had a career in entertainment or sports died at an average age of 77, while people working in the academic field died at the age of 82, individuals from the creative career group lived until age 79 and the ones in business or politics lived until the age of 83.

However, while the study does suggest that celebrities die at an early age, it is merely speculative at best, based on the fact that it has only compiled information of those celebrities who have had obituaries in the New York Times. Though researchers do speculate that the early death rates of celebrities can be attributed to a lifestyle of engaging risky behaviors such as smoking, drinking and drug use.

To illustrate the early deaths of some celebrities, here is a list of just some performers/entertainers who have died between 2009-2011:

Brittany Murphy (d. December 20, 2009, age 32)

Patrick Swayze (d. September 14, 2009, age 57)

Adam DJ AM Goldstein (d. August 28, 2009, age 36)

Steve McNair (d. July 4, 2009, age 36)

Michael Jackson (d. June 25, 2009, age 50)

Farrah Fawcett (d. June 25, 2009, age 62)

Natasha Richardson (d. March 18, 2009, age 45)

Ron Silver (d. March 15, 2009, age 62)

Jett Travolta (d. January 2, 2009, age 16)

Gary Coleman (d. May 28, 2010, age 42)

Simon Monjack (d. May 23, 2010, age 39)

Ronnie James Dio (d. May 16, 2010, age 67)

Corey Haim (d. March 10, 2010, age 38)

Patrice O’Neal (d. November 29, 2011, age 41)

Mikey Welsh (d. October 8, 2011, age 40)

Andy Whitfield (d. September 11, 2011, age 39)

Amy Winehouse (d. July 23, 2011, age 27)

Ryan Dunn (d. June 20, 2011, age 34)

Jeff Conaway (d. May 27, 2011, age 60)

Randy Savage (d. May 20, 2011, age 58)

Mia Davis (d. May 10, 2011, age 35)

John Dye (d. January 10, 2011, age 47)