Full Citation

Title: Does the Functional Form of the Association Between Education and Mortality Differ by U.S. Region?

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2018

ISBN:

ISSN: 1948-5565

DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2018.1468239

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: To understand the education-mortality association among U.S. adults, recent studies have documented its national functional form. However, the functional form of education-mortality relationship may vary across geographic contexts. The four U.S. Census regions differ considerably in their social and economic policies, employment opportunities, income levels, and other factors that may affect how education lowers the risk of mortality. Thus, we documented regional differences in the functional form of the education-mortality association and examined the role of employment and income in accounting for regional differences. We used data on nonHispanic white adults (2,981,672, person years) aged 45–84 in the 2000–2009 National Health Interview Survey, with Linked Mortality File through 2011 (37,598 deaths) and estimated discretetime hazard models. The functional form of education and adult mortality was best characterized by credentialism in the Midwest, Northeast, and for Western men. For Western women, the association was linear, consistent with the human capital model. In the South we observed a combination of mechanisms, with mortality risk declining with each year of schooling and a step change with high school graduation, followed by steeper decline thereafter. Our work adds to the increasing body of research that stresses the importance of contexts in shaping the education mortality relationship

Url: http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC5994609&blobtype=pdf

Url: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19485565.2018.1468239

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Authors: Sheehan, Connor; Montez, Jennifer Karas; Sasson, Isaac

Periodical (Full): Biodemography and Social Biology

Issue: 1

Volume: 64

Pages: 63-81

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education

Countries: United States