How To Live Longer: Study Reveals Link Between Education And Life Expectancy

If you are among the individuals who are looking for ways to increase life expectancy, then you can be assured at the thought that you are not alone. Health experts, researchers, scientists are always trying to find ways and means in order to find the right treatment to ailments in order to prolong life. Oftentimes, lifestyle, and diet are the main factors that researchers look at whenever they conduct a study on longevity. However, there is a whole new factor that could affect life expectancy.

The latest study revealed that there is a possible link between education and life expectancy. It revealed that a person’s educational attainment could have an impact on the longevity of a person.

Higher Educational Attainment

According to a report on Express, by staying in school and seeking higher educational attainment, you would be able to add more years to your life. In the study, American researchers kept track of more than 5,000 individuals in four different cities. They found out that those who had lesser degrees died more.

For instance, between those who were able to have a high school education and those who reached college, the former died more as compared to the latter. By attaining higher education, one is able to increase the number of years that he could live. As per the study, it showed that it was not race that could predict longevity, but educational attainment.

While the study was ongoing, it was noted that 395 people had died. The American Journal of Public Health published the results. They found that out of the college graduates, only 5% died while among the high school graduates, there were 13% died.

Interpreting the Data

According to a professor at Yale University, Dr. Brita Roy, the deaths that occurred were those in the working-age, before reaching 60, and often they were the ones who have children. By using the YPLL, otherwise known as Years of Potential Lives Lost, to compute the number of deaths and the percentages.

As per Dr. Roy, the findings of the study are powerful. Giving adequate access to education is something tangible, and it could help reverse the appalling trend that reduces the life expectancy of many adults. This is also evident in the gap in life expectancy between poor and rich people. It was touted that the percentage gap in men is 9.7 years while in women, it was 7.9 years.