Lack of Education May Shorten Life Span

According to a report in the Denver Post, the research underline the fact that education is a strong predictor of several contributing factors like higher income, which is linked to healthier lifestyle (and nourishment), and social and psychological well-being.

“In public health policy, we often focus on changing health behaviors such as diet, smoking, and drinking”, Virginia Chang, an associate professor of population health at NYU School of Medicine, said in a statement. It has been noted that certain policies that encouraged an improved educational attainment can also improve survival in the USA population.

Researchers suggested that those people with higher educational background may lengthen their longevity because of many factors, for instance people in this group tend to have more comfortable incomes that can influence better well-being and healthier habits.

They found that disparities in mortality across different education levels widened substantially over time.

Patrick Krueger, assistant professor at CU Denver’s Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, reported that figure is comparable to the number of deaths could have been avoided by cigarette smokers who quit.

Researchers determined that 145,243 deaths could have been prevented in 2010 if adults who hadn’t completed high school had gone on to earn a diploma or equivalent. Yet, the latest study shows that education should also be at the core of the USA public health policy.

The total data for the study was pooled between 1986 and 2006, and analyzed the link between education levels and death rates of a million people.

Experts discovered that mortality risks may be attributed to the educational attainment of an individual. Furthermore, a high school or college degree increase the chances of working in a safer environment, which ultimately weighs heavily on a person’s state of health.

Scientists also believe that almost 110,000 deaths were completely preventable if study participants with some college education had at least a bachelor’s degree. If these goals are met, researchers say there will be a significant increase in the life expectancy of Americans.

The conclusion of the researchers was that adults who have not finished high school should be encouraged to complete it. This could save twice as many lives in the case of those born in 1945 compared to the people born in 1925.

The bottom line, Chang said, “is paying attention to education has the potential to substantively reduce mortality”.

The researchers used data from the National Health Interview Survey carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.