Have you ever thought that going to school for longer could help you live a longer and healthier life?
A new study by researchers at Columbia University has found just that: people who get more education tend to age more slowly and have a better chance of living longer lives compared to those who don’t get as much schooling.
This study, which was published in JAMA Network Open, looked at participants from the Framingham Heart Study.
This study has been going on since 1948 and includes data from three generations of people. What makes this research stand out is that it’s the first to link how much school someone goes to with how fast they age and their chances of living longer.
The researchers used a special method called the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock to figure out how fast participants are aging.
This method looks at certain chemical markers on DNA that can show how quickly the body is getting older.
They found that getting an extra two years of education could slow down aging by about two to three percent. This slower aging could mean a 10 percent lower risk of dying, based on what the study’s lead researcher, Daniel Belsky, found in his previous research.
The idea is that more education could mean a healthier life and a lower chance of dying early. The study took a close look at over 14,000 people from the Framingham Heart Study.
They paid special attention to how much education people got compared to their parents and siblings. This way, they could see if getting more education really does lead to slower aging and longer life, without other family factors getting in the way.
The findings were pretty clear. People who moved up educationally compared to their parents or did better than their siblings in school tended to age more slowly. This was true across different generations and even when comparing siblings within the same family.
Gloria Graf, a PhD candidate who played a big part in the study, said that looking at education in this way helps to get rid of any biases that might come from different family backgrounds. This means they could really focus on how education itself affects aging.
In the end, the study suggests that encouraging people to get more education could help them live longer, healthier lives.
However, the researchers say that more experiments are needed to be totally sure. They also mention that tools like the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock could be really useful in future studies to see how education impacts aging before any diseases or disabilities show up.
So, the next time you think about hitting the books, remember, it might not just be good for your brain—it could also be good for your health and longevity!
If you care about wellness, please read studies about how ultra-processed foods and red meat influence your longevity, and why seafood may boost healthy aging.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
