Mortality Attributable to Low Levels of Education in the United States

★

☆

SHARE

Overview

Paper Summary

Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

Good to know

Topic Hierarchy

File Information

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

Education Could Save Lives: A Study on Mortality and Educational Levels

This study found that lower educational attainment is strongly associated with higher mortality in the US. If educational disparities observed in the 1945 birth cohort were applied to the 2010 US population, over half a million deaths annually could be attributed to having less than a baccalaureate degree. The study highlights the potential public health impact of policies and interventions aimed at improving educational attainment.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

The authors thank the University of Colorado Population Center, which received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. However, the funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Identified Weaknesses

Correlation vs. Causation

The study uses observational data, so it cannot definitively prove cause-and-effect. Other factors, like childhood health and genetics, might explain the link between education and mortality.

Missing Confounders

Information on important confounders was not collected, making it difficult to prove the direct link between education and mortality. Some people may be more predisposed to having lower education, but the other factors may be more important than education.

Rating Explanation

This is a strong study using a large, nationally representative dataset. However, it relies on observational data, making it difficult to definitively establish causality.

Good to know

This is our free standard analysis. Paperzilla Pro fact-checks every citation, researches author backgrounds and funding sources, and uses advanced AI reasoning for more thorough insights.

Explore Pro →