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A meta-analysis of education effects on chronic disease: The causal dynamics of the Population Education Transition Curve

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  • Smith, William C.
  • Anderson, Emily
  • Salinas, Daniel
  • Horvatek, Renata
  • Baker, David P.

Abstract

As the Epidemiological Transition progresses worldwide, chronic diseases account for the majority of deaths in developed countries and a rising proportion in developing countries indicating a new global pattern of mortality and health challenges into the future. Attainment of formal education is widely reported to have a negative gradient with risk factors and onset of chronic disease, yet there has not been a formal assessment of this research. A random-effects meta-analysis finds that across 414 published effects more education significantly reduces the likelihood of chronic disease, except for neoplastic diseases with substantial genetic causes. Some studies, however, report null effects and other research on infectious disease report positive education gradients. Instead of assuming these contradictory results are spurious, it is suggested that they are part of a predictable systemic interaction between multiple mediating effects of education and the Epidemiological Transition stage of the population; and thus represent one case of the Population Education Transition Curve modeling changes in the association between education and health as dependent on population context.

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  • Smith, William C. & Anderson, Emily & Salinas, Daniel & Horvatek, Renata & Baker, David P., 2015. "A meta-analysis of education effects on chronic disease: The causal dynamics of the Population Education Transition Curve," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 29-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:127:y:2015:i:c:p:29-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.027
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    2. Jianhua Pi & Yifan Sun & Mengya Xu & Shiliang Su & Min Weng, 2018. "Neighborhood Social Determinants of Public Health: Analysis of Three Prevalent Non-communicable Chronic Diseases in Shenzhen, China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 683-698, January.
    3. Andrew Halpern-Manners & Jonas Helgertz & John Robert Warren & Evan Roberts, 2020. "The Effects of Education on Mortality: Evidence From Linked U.S. Census and Administrative Mortality Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1513-1541, August.
    4. David P. Baker & William C. Smith & Ismael G. Muñoz & Haram Jeon & Tian Fu & Juan Leon & Daniel Salinas & Renata Horvatek, 2017. "The Population Education Transition Curve: Education Gradients Across Population Exposure to New Health Risks," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1873-1895, October.
    5. Adriana Lleras‐Muney, 2022. "Education and income gradients in longevity: The role of policy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(1), pages 5-37, February.
    6. Titus J. Galama & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Hans van Kippersluis, 2018. "The Effect of Education on Health and Mortality: A Review of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evidence," NBER Working Papers 24225, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Xuemei Wang & Ting Zhang & Jing Wu & Shaohua Yin & Xi Nan & Maolin Du & Aiping Liu & Peiyu Wang, 2019. "The Association between Socioeconomic Status, Smoking, and Chronic Disease in Inner Mongolia in Northern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-12, January.

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