Federal statistics show college graduates live longer, healthier lives. People with higher educational attainment also have less lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Of a sample of 13,948 participants (56 percent female), individuals with a grade school education carried a 55 percent of risk of CVD, defined as coronary heart disease, heart failure or stroke. Those who attended graduate school had a 36 percent risk of CVD.
In both men and women, risk level decreased as educational attainment progressed.
A recent story by the American Heart Association included a summary of the JAMA study and an interview with Jennifer Karas Montez, an assistant professor of sociology at Syracuse University who researches social determinants of health, women’s health and mortality.
“Education shapes health and mortality,” Karas Montez said. “If I had to pick three pieces of information about somebody and predict their life expectancy, I would want to know age, sex and education level. It’s that important.”
Read the full story from the American Heart Association here:
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.