The more you study, the healthier your heart. Photo: Stock.xchng, hhsara
If the recent student riots have taught us anything it's that many in this country are passionate about education. And while it's true that most people think getting a diploma or degree may increase your chances of having a good career, apparently it could affect your health too.
Experts writing in the European Heart Journal suggest the less education you have, the greater your risk of developing heart problems later in life. But it's not because going to college or university has a physiological affect on your health as such. Apparently they think it happens because lower education levels are linked to lower incomes (as there's already plenty of evidence to connect low pay with heart disease).
This particular study looks at the link between education and heart failure, a chronic condition where your heart isn't able to pump enough to keep up with your body's needs.
To come up with their findings, the researchers followed more than 18,000 adults from Denmark for 20 years. Those who'd had more than 10 years of education turned out to be 39% less likely to be admitted to hospital for chronic heart failure than those who'd had less than eight years of schooling.
But why? According to the researchers, it's possible that people with less education and lower incomes are less likely to be treated early on for things like high blood pressure and diabetes (risk factors for heart failure).
Perhaps the more educated you are, the more you're aware of the dangers of drinking too much alcohol or taking too little exercise. Or is there far more to it than that? What do you think?