According to a study published in JAMA Network, Americans with college degrees tend to have longer lifespans. “Estimated life expectancy at age 25 years declined overall between 2010 and 2017,” the authors wrote in their study. “However, it declined among persons without a 4-year college degree and increased among college-educated persons.”
Regardless of colour or gender if a person has a 4 year college education their life expectancy is likely increased compared to those who have lesser education, this difference extends across almost all race and gender groups according to the researchers based on their findings after analyzing causes of mortality in 4.6 million American death records from 2010-2017.
“A lot of attention has been given lately to opioid- and drug-related deaths, which have risen significantly in the U.S. in recent years,” researcher Isaac Sasson told Medical Research. “Our findings show that indeed drug-related deaths account for a substantial loss of life years, on average, at the population level.”
“For example, among white men, drug related deaths were responsible for 0.5 years of life lost in 2010, which nearly doubled by 2017. However, among men with a high-school degree [or] lower, drug-related deaths were responsible for a staggering 1.7 years of life lost in 2017.” says Sasson.
“Numerous studies have shown the rising importance of education to health and longevity. In addition to being a marker of socioeconomic status, educational attainment confers tangible rewards, both intrinsic and extrinsic, which are linked to healthier lifestyles and better health outcomes.” adds Sasson.
“Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the Nation’s overall health,” CDC Director Robert. R. Redfield said, “and these sobering statistics are a wakeup call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.”
