Education and Premature Mortality Risk

Bill (William) Yates, M.D.
Brain Post

23rd July 2012

Advanced educational level is linked to risk of premature death from a variety of clinical neuroscience disorders.  Stroke risk is increased significantly in low with a high school educational level compared to those with a college degree or more.  Monitoring and understanding these types of discrepancies is an important aspect of public health.

A recent study of education and premature mortality risk has been published in the journal Plos One.  J Ma from the Surveillance Research Program of the American Cancer Society and colleagues from the CDC examined trends in death rates by educational level in twenty six U.S. states between 1993 and 2007.  I will focus on their results from two categories relevant to neuroscience--stroke deaths and deaths due to accidents.  The chart above summarizes trends in mortality rates (per 100,000 people per year) for stroke and accidental death by educational level.


This chart shows that a significant educational gap has existed for both conditions dating back to 1993.  The educational gap appears to be widening for accidental deaths.  The chart shows this effect for males but an increasing gap was noted also in lower educational level women.  Accidentals deaths, including all types of unintentional unnatural deaths and did not include suicides or homicides.

The authors examined specific causes of death that might have contributed to the increasing death rates in those with lower educational levels.  The noted this effect appeared related to be "largely due to the dramatic increases in deaths from prescribed drug poisoning".   The authors note the evidence for prescription drug overdoses contributing to the educational level gap increase is indirect.

I have previously posted on the key research related to accidental death trends in the U.S.:

• The Epidemiology of Prescription Opiate Abuse
• Risk Factors for Accidental Overdose Deaths

The current study demonstrates that the increase in accidental overdose deaths may be associated with lower educational level.  Such factors may include higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse, higher rates of chronic pain disorders, or issues related to access to medical care.

In summary, this study is another piece of evidence highlighting the need for increased understanding of the epidemiology and prevention of prescription drug misuse and accidental overdose.  This issue presents one of the most important U.S. public health challenges.

Figure in this manuscript is an original figure produced by the author from data presented in the manuscript.

Ma J, Xu Jiaquan, Anderson RN, Ahmedin J (2012). Widening Educational Disparities in Premature Death Rates in Twenty Six States in the United States, 1993– 2007 Plos One DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041560

See the original article:

Education and Premature Mortality Risk

in

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