Education gap widens in biological aging
Biological aging gap by education nearly doubles since 1988.
Why it matters
- Education affects biological aging; less educated Americans age faster.
- Gap between educational groups nearly doubled to 2 years over 30 years.
- Changes in smoking, obesity, or medication use didn't explain the gap.
By the numbers
- Biological aging gap between less than high school education and college degree holders grew from 1 year to 2 years from 1988–1994 to 2015–2018.
- Study examined adults aged 50–79.
The big picture
- Educational inequality may lead to more years in poor health for less educated individuals.
- Education is a significant social determinant of health, impacting aging processes.
What they're saying
- Readers note stress from poverty and better brain health as contributing factors.
- Some question if child rearing was controlled for in the study.
Caveats
- Study is observational; cannot establish causality.
- Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
What’s next
- Future research could explore interventions to reduce the educational gap in aging.
- Investing in education may be key to addressing health disparities.