Lack of education can be as deadly as smoking because it is associated with lower earnings, a less healthy lifestyle and worse living conditions, according to an analysis published by the PLOS ONE journal.
Researchers from the University of Colorado in Denver together with colleagues from New York University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came to such conclusions after analyzing data on nearly 1 million people aged 25 to 85 years. They were collected as part of a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Researchers also checked how the education level of people born in 1925, 1935 and 1945 changed and how it influenced their mortality.
As they calculated, in 2010 the deaths of over 145 could be prevented. people in the US if those who dropped out of high school would have done so. In addition, it would be possible to save over 110 thousand. people, if all those who started their studies graduated with a master’s degree.
It also found that the differences in mortality among people with different levels of education deepened significantly over the years. As a result, for example, if all those who dropped out of high school did so, twice as many deaths among those born in 1945 as those born in 1925 could be prevented.
Overall, we can say that although life expectancy is increasing, the best educated gain the most, comments Virginia Chang from New York University, co-author of the study.
Deaths due to cardiovascular diseases were more responsible for the widening of the differences in mortality than deaths due to neoplastic diseases. Scientists estimate that this is likely to be related to advances in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
As the researchers explain, education is an indicator of the risk of early death because it is often related to the level of earnings, social position, lifestyle and quality of life.
Our results show that systemic actions and regulations that improve the education level of society can significantly improve the life expectancy of Americans, says co-author Dr. Patrick Krueger of the Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Colorado. Unless these trends change, he believes the mortality from lower education levels will continue to rise in the future.
Public health policy often focuses on changing health-related behaviors such as diet, smoking and drinking. Education, which is more critical – as a factor in health behavior and social differences – should also be a key component of the country’s health policy, emphasizes Chang.