Study Finds Higher Education Correlates with Increased Life Expectancy
The absence from school has been demonstrated to be equally harmful as smoking or binge drinking, and this research shows the initial correlation between education and improvements in longevity. Based on evidence from industrialised countries such as the UK and the US, as well as developing countries such as China and Brazil, the review found that an adult’s risk of death decreased by 2% for every year of full-time education. The peer-reviewed analysis published in The Lancet Public Health shows that completing primary, secondary and tertiary education is equivalent to a lifetime of healthy eating and reduces the risk of death by 34% compared to those with no formal education.
The study highlights the correlation between school attendance and health, providing support for efforts to improve school attendance in the UK. Increasing the number of young people attending further and higher education and raising the school leaving age could potentially increase future life expectancy levels. Although the benefits of education on life expectancy have been recognized for some time, this review by academics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Washington in Seattle is the first study to calculate the duration of education and its link to mortality reduction.
The researchers claim that the meta-analysis, which was supported by research funding from the Norwegian government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides compelling evidence for increased investment in education as a means of reducing global mortality inequalities. Dr. Terje Andreas Eikemo of NTNU, co-author of the study, said, "Education is important not only for its health benefits but also for its intrinsic value, and being able to quantify the magnitude of these benefits is a significant advance."
The analysis also showed that improvements in longevity were comparable in both rich and poor countries. They were also comparable across gender, social class, and demographic groups.