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The Nonlinear Relationship Between Education and Mortality: An Examination of Cohort, Race/Ethnic, and Gender Differences

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  • Bethany Everett
  • David Rehkopf
  • Richard Rogers

Abstract

Researchers investigating the relationship between education and mortality in industrialized countries have consistently shown that higher levels of education are associated with decreased mortality risk. The shape of the education–mortality relationship and how it varies by demographic group have been examined less frequently. Using the U.S. National Health Interview Survey-Linked Mortality Files, which link the 1986 through 2004 NHIS to the National Death Index through 2006, we examine the shape of the education–mortality curve by cohort, race/ethnicity, and gender. Whereas traditional regression models assume a constrained functional form for the dependence of education and mortality, in most cases semiparametric models allow us to more accurately describe how the association varies by cohort, both between and within race/ethnic and gender subpopulations. Notably, we find significant changes over time in both the shape and the magnitude of the education–mortality gradient across cohorts of women and white men, but little change among younger cohorts of black men. Such insights into demographic patterns in education and mortality can ultimately help increase life expectancies. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Bethany Everett & David Rehkopf & Richard Rogers, 2013. "The Nonlinear Relationship Between Education and Mortality: An Examination of Cohort, Race/Ethnic, and Gender Differences," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(6), pages 893-917, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:32:y:2013:i:6:p:893-917
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-013-9299-0
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    3. Tiffany Green & Tod Hamilton, 2019. "Maternal educational attainment and infant mortality in the United States: Does the gradient vary by race/ethnicity and nativity?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(25), pages 713-752.
    4. Hayward, Mark D. & Hummer, Robert A. & Sasson, Isaac, 2015. "Trends and group differences in the association between educational attainment and U.S. adult mortality: Implications for understanding education's causal influence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 8-18.
    5. Shervin Assari & Ritesh Mistry, 2018. "Educational Attainment and Smoking Status in a National Sample of American Adults; Evidence for the Blacks’ Diminished Return," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-12, April.
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    8. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2024. "The effects of education on mortality: Evidence using college expansions," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 541-575, March.
    9. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2021. "The Effects of Education on Mortality: Evidence Using College Expansions," NBER Working Papers 29423, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Shervin Assari, 2018. "Racial Variation in the Association between Educational Attainment and Self-Rated Health," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-11, April.
    11. Adriana Lleras-Muney & Joseph Price & Dahai Yue, 2020. "The Association Between Educational Attainment and Longevity using Individual Level Data from the 1940 Census," NBER Working Papers 27514, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Elizabeth M. Lawrence & Richard G. Rogers & Anna Zajacova, 2016. "Educational Attainment and Mortality in the United States: Effects of Degrees, Years of Schooling, and Certification," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(4), pages 501-525, August.
    13. Masters, Ryan K. & Link, Bruce G. & Phelan, Jo C., 2015. "Trends in education gradients of ‘preventable’ mortality: A test of fundamental cause theory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 19-28.
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    16. Shervin Assari & Maryam Moghani Lankarani, 2018. "Educational Attainment Promotes Fruit and Vegetable Intake for Whites but Not Blacks," J, MDPI, vol. 1(1), pages 1-13, June.

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