Being a politician is associated with high levels of stress and considerable strain. Researchers are now looking at how the health of municipal commissioners who chair the municipal executive board is affected by the role.
Text: Cecilia Odlind. First published in Swedish in the magazine Medical Science No. 3 2026.
Previous research shows that senior politicians with roles in national politics experience higher levels of stress than senior business executives. Furthermore, senior politicians report unhealthy level of alcohol consumption, and their life expectancy is adversely affected by their role.
Elected political office holders are also experiencing increasing exposure to threats, hatred and violence, as well as improper attempts to influence them. Moreover, the role is time-consuming, subject to media scrutiny, and lacks formal regulation.
“This is worrying given how important it is to attract competent individuals to top political offices and to ensure they choose to remain in them,” says Elin Frögéli , a researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.
Questionnaires and interviews
She is leading a study which, using questionnaires and in-depth interviews, will follow people holding the position of chair the municipal executive board (kommunstyrelsens ordförande) in 290 Swedish municipalities, along with control groups, from spring 2026 to the end of 2028. This is a group of people that has not been studied from an occupational health perspective before.
“Our overarching research question is whether the role of local senior politician has a negative impact on their health as they perceive it,” says Elin Frögéli.
The Centre for Local Government Studies at Linköping University is a partner in the study.
