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Glitch in the gradient: Additional education does not uniformly equal better health

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  • Zajacova, Anna
  • Rogers, Richard G.
  • Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki

Abstract

While the relationship between education and general health has been firmly established in the literature, surprisingly little research has analyzed individual components of the global health judgments, such as chronic conditions or pain. We present a systematic account of the health gradient for multiple health outcomes by detailed educational categories among U.S. working-age adults. Using the 1997–2010 National Health Interview Surveys (N = 204,764), we analyze individual health outcomes ranging from cardiovascular disease to vision problems with a series of logistic regression models. The results at the presecondary and baccalaureate levels are consistent with the health gradient. An unexpected finding occurs among adults with some college but no degree, and those with technical/vocational associate degrees: these groups report more pain and a higher prevalence of a broad range of conditions than high school graduates who never attended college. We discuss several explanations for the observed patterns. The findings challenge the broadly accepted educational gradient in health; additionally, the lower postsecondary groups comprise a quarter of American adults. Jointly, there is a clear research and policy impetus to understand the source of this ‘glitch’ in the health gradient.

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  • Zajacova, Anna & Rogers, Richard G. & Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki, 2012. "Glitch in the gradient: Additional education does not uniformly equal better health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(11), pages 2007-2012.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:11:p:2007-2012
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.07.036
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    2. Leive, Adam A. & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2021. "Has mortality risen disproportionately for the least educated?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Liliya Leopold & Thomas Leopold, 2016. "Education and Health across Lives and Cohorts: A Study of Cumulative Advantage in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 835, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Anna Zajacova & Jennifer Karas Montez & Pamela Herd, 2014. "Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Among Older Adults and the Implications for the Retirement Age Debate: A Brief Report," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(6), pages 973-978.
    5. Isaac Sasson, 2017. "Reply to Trends in Education-Specific Life Expectancy, Data Quality, and Shifting Education Distributions: A Note on Recent Research," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 1215-1219, June.
    6. von Hippel, Paul T. & Lynch, Jamie L., 2014. "Why are educated adults slim—Causation or selection?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 131-139.
    7. Delaruelle, Katrijn & Buffel, Veerle & Bracke, Piet, 2015. "Educational expansion and the education gradient in health: A hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 79-88.
    8. Topping, Michael & Fletcher, Jason, 2024. "Educational attainment, family background and the emergence of pain gradients in adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).

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