Gaps in Health Strongly Linked to Education Levels, Report Finds

Gaps in Health Strongly Linked to Education Levels, Report Finds
Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults: A State-by-State Look at Adult Health: May 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Washington, DC —Across the country and in every state, adults with less education are more likely to be in less than very good health than college graduates. Adults in every state fall far short of the level of good health that should be achievable for all Americans, says a new report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America. The report is the first to rank states on differences in adults’ health based on their levels of education, and it shows that while people with more education are healthier, in some states these differences are much more dramatic than in others.

Almost 1/2 of all adults ages 25 to 74 in the United States report being in less than very good health, and that rate differs depending on level of education. For example, adults who have not graduated from high school are more than 2.5 times as likely to be in less than very good health as college graduates, according to the report. Those who have graduated from high school but not gone to college are nearly twice as likely to be in less than very good health as college graduates.

In the United States, 45% of adults reported being in less than very good health.
~ from a high of 53% in Mississippi to a low of 35% in Vermont.

Early Life ExperienceThe effects of socioeconomic adversity on young children, however, are probably the most dramatic. Socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood has been linked repeatedly with worse health not only in childhood but later in adulthood as well. Child poverty often leads to lower educational attainment and therefore to lower income in adulthood, with strong health effects. Socioeconomic adversity in early childhood can lead to physical changes in brain development limiting children’s chances to succeed and be healthy; high-quality early child care can markedly improve the mental and behavioral development of children, especially those in less favorable socioeconomic circumstances.

EducationEducation has profound health effects. More schooling in general – not just health education – can lead to greater knowledge about health and greater ability to apply that knowledge to change behavior – one’s own behaviors and the behaviors of one’s children – in healthy ways. Education is tightly linked with income and wealth, which in turn are tightly linked with health; for example, more schooling yields opportunities for more rewarding jobs with healthier working conditions.

Some of the Charts:

A Mom's Education, A Baby's Chances of Survival
Babies born to mothers who did not finish high school are nearly twice as likely to die before their first birthdays as babies born to college graduates.Less Education, Worse Health
Less education is linked with worse health. Compared with college graduates, adults who have not finished high school are more than 4 times as likely to be in poor or fair health.Lower Income Is Linked with Worse Health
Diabetes decreases with increasing income. Diabetes is twice as common among poor adults as those in the highest-income group. Lower-income adults are also more likely to have heart disease. The prevalence of heart disease is nearly 50% higher among poor adults than among adults in the highest-income group.More Child Poverty in America
The U.S. has higher rates of child poverty than many other countries. In 2000, 1/5 of American children were poor—a proportion that was 9 times higher than in Denmark.
Parents' Education, A Child's Chances for Health
Children whose parents have not finished high school are over 6 times as likely to be in poor or fair health as children whose parents are college graduates.
Parents' Income, A Child's Chances for Health
Children in poor families are about 7 times as likely to be in poor or fair health as children in the highest-income families.