We’ve been talking quite a bit about the intriguing topic of longevity lately. And if living to a ripe old age is on your “To Do” list, you may want to consider gaining a higher education.

So, does that mean those with a college degree will live longer than their less-educated counterparts? Perhaps.

Epidemiologists from the American Cancer Society and scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) teamed up to analyze the data and death certificate information of more than three and a half million deaths which occurred between 1993 and 2001. During that time period, an evident gap emerged between those in different educational brackets. The most educated folks saw a significant decrease in death rates from causes such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc, while the death rates for the least educated groups remained nearly unchanged.

This is the first study to look at recent socioeconomic inequality trends concerning death rates from all causes, as well as from several of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Potential contributors to this discrepancy? Less educated folks have fewer financial resources to help them stay healthy, including health insurance and stable employment, and they also tend to be less educated on health matters. What’s more, this group is three times more likely to be a current smoker than those with college degrees. And with smoking comes issues like heart disease, lung disease and cancer.

With such an unnerving discovery, we’re left wondering: what can be done to change this?

What would you do if you were the president? How would you bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots, at least from a health standpoint? Or is this issue simply too far gone and hopeless? Weigh in – we’d love to hear your ideas…

More reading:
The Washington Post
American Cancer Society

Image: Newscom

Post from: Healthbolt