A mad, bad world? Blame the leaders

Many world leaders had mental and physical health problems while they were in office—and it may have affected their judgment, say researchers

John Lennon once said the world is in such a mess because it’s run by sociopaths. He may have been closer to the truth than he realized, at least according to a new study that has investigated the physical and mental health of world leaders through the years.

Many past leaders of the world’s nine nuclear powers had serious health problems while in office, ranging from dementia and depression to addiction and chronic disease. This may well have impaired their ability to make rational decisions, even while they had their finger on the nuclear trigger, say researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand.

They investigated the health of 51 deceased leaders of nuclear-armed countries—China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—and discovered that 23 had confirmed or possible health issues while they were in office. In every case, their health problems were hushed up.

The US has had more than its fair share of presidents with mental and physical health issues. Of the 37 presidents examined, 18 (49 percent) “met criteria suggesting psychiatric disorder.” Specifically, 24 percent suffered from depression, 8 percent had anxiety, and a similar ratio had bipolar disorder or were alcoholics. In 10 of the cases, the disorder was prevalent while they were president, which probably impaired their job performance.¹

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