Low level of education more dangerous than smoking, study suggests

You'd rather be a smoker than skip your class! A team of researchers from the University of Colorado, New York University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that the lack of education could lead to more deaths than smoking.

A team of researchers led by Virginia Chang, associate professor of population health at NYU School of Medicine, looked into the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Interview Survey, involving around one million people from 1986 and 2006, which included  those who were born in 1925, 1935 and 1945. The researchers determined the impact of educational achievement on mortality in the passing time.

The study, published Wednesday in PLOS ONE journal, revealed that Americans with low educational attainment are more at risk of death than smokers. The researchers believed that around 145,000 lives have been saved if they just finished high school and 110,000 more deaths could have been prevented in 2010 had these adults decided to attend college.

Chang and her group pointed out the importance of strong government hand in educating adults as a serious live-saver.

"Our results suggest that policies and interventions that improve educational attainment could substantially improve survival in the U.S. population, especially given widening educational disparities," Patrick Krueger, assistant professor in the Department of Health & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver.

Chang also argued that higher educational attainment gives benefits life even more.

"Broadly, life expectancy is increasing, but those with more education are reaping most of the benefits," she said.

While getting educated helps one to be learned and get better financial opportunities, Chang said that achieving good health should be included in the rationale for attending school.

"The bottom line is paying attention to education has the potential to substantively reduce mortality," she explained.

Individuals with higher level of education are more likely to have higher income, elevated social status, and healthier mindset, which in turn could lead to a healthier, longer life. Likewise, educated individuals are more likely to avoid bad habits. For example, while smoking could prove deadly, a person with low educational attainment who smokes frequently could place himself at risk of high blood pressure or heart disease.