Why getting a university degree is also the secret to a long life

More stupid causal assumptions. It is politically incorrect to note that high IQ people live longer. And high IQ helps you to get a degree. Need I say more? It's not the degree that gives you a long life but rather the better health associated with a high IQ

Higher education could help you live longer, according to a study. It found people who went to college or university had lower blood pressure as they aged than those whose education finished when they left school in their teens.

With high blood pressure doubling the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, according to the Blood Pressure Association, the finding suggests a good education could save your life.
A study found that people who went to college or university had lower blood pressure as they aged than those left school in their teens

A study found that people who went to college or university had lower blood pressure as they aged than those left school in their teens

The biggest health benefits were found among those with master’s degrees or doctorates, and were stronger for women, the journal BMC Public Health reports.

Researchers at Brown University, Rhode Island, who tracked the health of nearly 4,000 American men and women for 30 years, also found highly educated men tended to be thinner and smoked and drank less than those without further education.

Well-educated women also smoked less and were thinner – but drank more than those who did not go to college or university.
With high blood pressure purportedly doubling the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, the finding suggests a good education could save your life

With high blood pressure purportedly doubling the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, the finding suggests a good education could save your life

The jobs taken by school-leavers may also impact on health.

Study leader Eric Loucks said: ‘Low educational attainment has been demonstrated to predispose individuals to high strain jobs, characterised by high levels of demand and low levels of control, which have been associated with elevated blood pressure.’

He isn’t sure why women’s blood pressure is particularly affected by education – or the lack of it. But it may that lack of education affects a woman’s lifestyle, and so her physical health, more than a man’s.

Dr Loucks said: ‘Women with less education are more likely to be experiencing depression, they are more likely to be single parents, more likely to be living in impoverished areas and more likely to be living below the poverty line.

‘Socio-economic gradients in health are very complex. But there’s a questions of what do we do about it. ‘One of the big potential areas to intervene on is education.’

The British Heart Foundation cautioned that the differences in blood pressure noted were small but added: ‘Action is needed across all parts of society to give children the best possible start in life and reduce health inequalities.’

Education has also been linked with warding off Alzheimer’s. But it may be the case that when the condition does hit, it hits harder and progresses faster.

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Parents warned against giving paracetamol and ibuprofen for mild fever

Proper caution at last

Parents should not give children with a mild fever regular spoonfuls of paracetamol and ibuprofen, doctors advise today, as they warn that doing so could extend their illness or put their health at risk.

A misplaced “fever phobia” in society means parents too frequently use both medicines to bring down even slight temperatures, say a group of American paediatricians, who warn that children can receive accidental overdoses as a result.

As many as half of parents are giving their children the wrong dosage, according to a study carried out by the doctors.

In new guidance, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises that a high temperature is often the body’s way of fighting an infection, and warns parents that to bring it down with drugs could actually lengthen a child’s illness. [Nice to have that rediscovered]

Family doctors too readily advise parents to use the medicines, known collectively as “antipyretics”, according to the authors of the guidance.

GPs also often tell parents to give their children alternate doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen – known as combination therapy – believing the risk of side effects to be minimal.

In its official guidance, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says the use of the drugs “should be considered in children with fever who appear distressed or unwell”.

Although Nice says that both drugs should not “routinely” be given to children with a fever, it states that this approach “may be considered” if the child does not respond to being given just one of them.

Children’s paracetamol solutions such as Calpol and ibuprofen solutions such as Nurofen for Children are sold over the counter in chemists. Recommended dosage quantities vary by age.

There is a range of solutions for different age groups, meaning it is possible for parents with children of different ages to mix up which they are giving.

According to the British National Formulary, which GPs consult when prescribing or advising on medication, children should receive no more than four doses of the right amount of paracetamol in a 24-hour period, and no more than four doses of ibuprofen a day.

In its guidance today, however, theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics notes that both medications have potential side effects and says the risks should be taken seriously.

Doctors, the authors write, should begin “by helping parents understand that fever, in and of itself, is not known to endanger a generally healthy child”. “It should be emphasised that fever is not an illness but is, in fact, a physiological mechanism that has beneficial effects in fighting infection.”

Despite this, the academy says, many parents administer paracetamol or ibuprofen even though there is only a minimal fever, or none at all. “Unfortunately, as many as half of all parents administer incorrect doses,” the authors say. A frequent error is giving children adult-sized doses, while children who are small for their age can also receive doses that are too high even if their parents follow the instructions correctly.

Paracetamol has been linked to asthma, while there have been reports of ibuprofen causing stomach ulcers and bleeding, and leading to kidney problems.

“Questions remain regarding the safety” of combination therapy, say the authors, led by Dr Janice Sullivan, of the University of Louisville Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit, and Dr Henry Farrar, of the University of Arkansas.

Dr Clare Gerada, the chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “In my experience of 20 years as a GP, parents are usually pretty careful. “I think the most important thing to be worried about is keeping medicines out of the reach of children, because some taste quite nice.”

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