Presidential Diseases

From George Washington's toothlessness (he has no teeth left by middle age), to Grover Cleveland's gout, to Franklin D. Roosevelt's polio, to Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer disease, and finally to George W. Bush's colon polyps, presidents throughout history suffer from the same diseases and ailments like the rest of us.

Find out what diseases you have in common with the leaders of the free world!



George Washington
Malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, dysentery, boils (carbuncles), tooth loss, hearing loss, presbyopia, infertility, quinsy, pneumonia, epiglottitis or strep infection of the larynx.


John Adams
Hair loss, depression, boils, heartburn, falling into a coma, hyperthyroidism(?), porphyria (?), rheumatism, manic-depressive (?).


Thomas Jefferson
Cluster/tension headaches, broken/fractured bones, dysentery, depression, rheumatism, constipation, boils, hearing loss, enlarged prostate, Asperger syndrome (?).


James Madison
Frostbite, frequent illness, hypochondria (?), inflamed gallbladder (cholecystitis), arthritis, congestive heart failure.


James Monroe
Malaria, gunshot wound, seizure (stroke?), heart failure, tuberculosis.


John Quincy Adams
Hairloss, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage.


Andrew Jackson
Sword wound, smallpox, depression, gunshot wound, malaria, dysentery, frequent headaches, tuberculosis, edema (dropsy), heart failure.


Martin Van Buren
Frequent colds, indigestion (dyspepsia), gout, asthma, heart failure.


William H. Harrison
Ulcer (?), stress, cold, pneumonia, pleurisy, jaundice, septicemia.


John Tyler
Paralysis, dysentery, colds, bilious fever (?), arthritis, bronchitis, stroke.


James K. Polk
Kidney stone, sterility, cholera, debilitating diarrhea.


Zachary Taylor
Yellow fever, malaria, dysentery, double vision, nearsightedness (myopia), heat stroke, bilious fever, cholera (?) or acute indigestion, arsenic poisoning (?)


Millard Fillmore
Paralysis and stroke.


Franklin Pierce
Horse riding injury, depression, alcoholism, tuberculosis, cirrhosis of the liver.


James Buchanan
Eye twitch, alcoholism, gout, respiratory failure.


Abraham Lincoln
Color blindness, strabismus (cross eyed), presbyopia, concussion, fractured jaw, malaria, depression, Marfan syndrome (?), scarlet fever (?), dental phobia, toothache, smallpox, hairloss, fatal gunshot wound.


Andrew Johnson
Typhoid fever, alcoholism (?), stroke.


Ulysses S. Grant
Alcoholism (?), throat cancer (carcinoma of the tonsils and tongue).


Rutherford B. Hayes
Poison ivy dermatitis, heart attack (myocardial infarction).


James Garfield
Malarial fever (ague), cold, upset stomach, anal fissure, infected gunshot wound, heart attack or aortic aneurysm (?), blood poisoning, pneumonia.


Chester Arthur
Indigestion, gallstone disease (?), Bright's disease, malaria (?), hypertension, heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke).


Grover Cleveland
Obesity, leg laceration, typhoid fever, jaw (palate) cancer, hearing loss, nephritis, gout, heart attack.


Benjamin Harrison
Food poisoning, scarlet fever, contact dermatitis, nervous breakdown, cold, pneumonia,


William McKinley
Pancreatic necrosis, fatal gunshot wound, blood poisoning.


Theodore Roosevelt
Nearsightedness (myopia), asthma, hyperactivity, gunshot wound, obesity, detached retina, blind in one eye, throat infection, thigh abscess, middle ear infection, deafness in one ear, rheumatoid arthritis, coronary embolism.


William H. Taft
Skull fracture and head injury due to wagon accident, sunburn, typhoid fever, severe obesity, dengue fever (?), perineal abscess, dysentery, food poisoning, heartburn, sleep apnea, motion sickness, constipation, headache, gout, cold, eye injury, pink eye, lower back pain (lumbago), hypertension, carpal tunnel syndrome (?), indigestion, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic cystitis, atherosclerosis, myocarditis, heart failure.


Woodrow Wilson
Dyslexia (?), eye twitches, atherosclerosis, headache, cold, hypertension, multiple strokes.


Warren Harding

Nervous breakdown, mumps, nasal allergy, mild aphasia (?), dermatitis, infertility (?), hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, stroke, pneumonia, flu (?), food poisoning (?), heart attack.


Calvin Coolidge
Depression, heart failure.


Herbert Hoover
Croup (strep throat or laryngitis), measles, mumps, diphtheria, chicken pox, hatchet injury to finger, burn injury to foot, gall bladder disease, shingles, intestinal cancer, deafness, near blindness, pneumonia, fatal, gastrointestinal bleeding.


Franklin D. Roosevelt
Polio, hypertension, hemorrhoids, anemia, melanoma (?), anorexia, weight loss, indigestion, sebaceous cyst, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, angina, cholecystitis, cerebral hemorrhage.


Harry Truman
Farsightedness (hyperopia), diphtheria, headache, dizziness, sleeplessness, horse riding injury, sore throat, asthma, flu, gall bladder disease, allergy to medications, hernia, broken ribs, lung congestion, heart failure..


Dwight Eisenhower
Appendicitis, seborrheic keratosis, arthritis, Crohn's disease, anxiety, depression, bowel obstruction, stroke, cholecystitis, prostatic hyperthropy, heart disease, multiple heart attacks (myocardial infarctions).


John F. Kennedy
Scarlet fever, measles, knee injury, bronchitis, jaundice, rubella, whooping cough, colitis, osteoporosis, presbyopia, diphtheria (?), sexually transmitted prostatitis and urinary tract infection (?), back aches, malaria (?), Addison disease, fatal gunshot wound.


Lyndon Johnson
Angina, gall bladder disease, heart disease, multiple heart attacks.


Richard Nixon
Phlebitis, "furious eye blinking", stroke.


Gerald Ford
Actinomycosis (with tongue abscess), pneumonia, stroke.


Jimmy Carter
Severe chronic hemorrhoids.


Ronald Reagan
Nearsightedness (myopia), pneumonia, fractured thigh bone, urinary tract infections, prostate stones, severe cold, Temporomandibular joints (TMJ) disease, arthritis, hay fever, gunshot wound, collapsed lung, hearing loss, colon polyp and cancer, basal cell carcinoma, benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate), gastroenteritis, epidural hematoma, Alzheimer's disease, hip fracture, pneumonia.


George HW Bush
Staph infection, bleeding ulcers, arthritis, mucoid cyst, sebaceous cyst, glaucoma, eye sty, atrial fibrillation, hyperthyroidism, Graves disease (a form of goiter), depression, vomiting and fainting (flu?), actinic keratosis.


Bill Clinton
Gasteroesophageal reflux (GERD), rectal bleeding, knee injury, allergy, torn knee tendon, sebaceous cyst, basal cell carcinoma, acne rosacea, angina, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, sexual addiction (?).


George W. Bush
Hemorrhoids, benign colon polyps, alcoholism, cocaine abuse (?), actinic keratosis, loss of consciousness (syncope), knee injury (torn meniscus).





Sources & Further Readings

  • Bumgarner, JR. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Co., published in 1994.
  • Wikipedia. President of the United States.
  • Doctorzebra.com. Medical History of American Presidents


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