2010 Articles

Education and Health

Muennig, Peter A.

High school graduates live 6–9 years longer than high school dropouts. Those with less education are more likely to die prematurely of cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious disease, diabetes, lung disease, and injury than those with more education. There is good evidence that the education–health relationship is causal, but the underlying mechanisms have not all been adequately tied together. The health risk factors that are more prevalent among those with lower educational attainment drawing on the public health, economics, endocrinology, sociology, neurosciences, and other literatures are explored.