A study from researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology uncovered an astounding truth: Every extra year of schooling — from primary school to university — lowers a person’s risk of mortality by roughly 2%, regardless of age, gender, or location.
“Education is important in its own right, not just for its benefits to health, but now being able to quantify the magnitude of this benefit is a significant development,” Dr. Terje Andreas Eikemo, the study’s co-author, told the Guardian.
The data solidified earlier findings from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
That study, which pulled data from 3,110 counties between 2000 and 2019, marked the first comprehensive look at life expectancy by education at a county level across the United States.
Alarmingly, lead researcher Laura Dwyer-Lindgren found that the average life expectancy for those without a diploma ranged from 57.9 to 90.1 years — a 32-year disparity. Among college-educated individuals, life expectancies spanned 19 years, ranging from 75.2 to 93.9 years.
“Educational disparities in life expectancy are large, widespread, and increasing, both nationally and in most counties throughout the USA,” Dwyer-Lindgren emphasized in the study, which was published in The Lancet Public Health journal.
“Further research is needed to determine how both more equitable access to higher education and efforts to mitigate barriers to good health facing people with lower levels of education might result in better health and longer lives.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Education Edition of the Goodnewspaper
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