Pathways from education to mortality, mediated through income

Area of Science:

• Social Epidemiology
• Health Economics
• Demography

Background:

• Lower educational attainment is linked to higher mortality rates.
• Lower income, often associated with less education, also correlates with increased mortality.
• Understanding the interplay between education, income, and mortality across the life course is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal impact of education on mortality.
• To determine the extent to which income mediates the relationship between education and mortality over a lifetime.
• To decompose the mortality benefits of education into direct and indirect (income-mediated) effects.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Swedish conscription data (men only) from 1968-2012, including parental information and annual income.
• Employed inverse propensity weighting (IPW) of the mortality hazard to account for selective educational attainment and income.
• Decomposed the educational gain in mortality hazard into indirect (via income) and direct effects.

Main Results:

• Significant educational gains in mortality were observed, indicating higher education is associated with lower mortality.
• The educational gradient in mortality is substantially mediated through changes in income, particularly for more educated individuals.
• No evidence suggests the educational gradient in mortality operates through other factors related to education.

Conclusions:

• Education plays a vital role in reducing mortality, with income acting as a primary pathway for this effect.
• Policy interventions aimed at increasing educational attainment could improve population health outcomes by boosting income.
• The findings underscore the socioeconomic determinants of health and the long-term impact of education on longevity.