High school dropouts are 40 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack later in life, new study suggests

Leaving school before age 18 can have disastrous repercussions for heart health, a new study suggests.

Experts at Columbia University followed 26,000 people for 13 years to see how factors such as education and income influenced their health.

They found that education was a key protective factor against atherosclerotic disease, the leading trigger of heart disease and stroke, and the leading cause of death worldwide.

Specifically, they found that those who dropped out of high school had a 39 percent higher risk of developing heart disease over the course of more than a decade, compared to people with higher levels of education.

The latest data shows that an estimated 40 million Americans do not have a high school diploma.

Another critical factor highlighted by the researchers was living in a neighborhood with a high proportion of residents with little high school education, who were 31 percent more likely than others to have heart problems.

Experts say the link is likely due to a lack of adequate knowledge about heart health and risk factors among less educated people.

Additionally, those with little access to good schools are more likely to live in neighborhoods with fewer resources for physical activity and a healthy diet.

For example, other strong predictors of heart disease included a person’s income and where they live.

Marginalized groups, including black and Hispanic Americans, were much more likely than their white counterparts to have lower-performing schools and fewer financial resources.

Atherosclerotic disease (ASCVD) affects approximately 20 million Americans and is the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide.

It describes the process by which fatty deposits build up in the arteries, damaging the vessels and restricting the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body, including to and from the heart, lungs, and brain.

Researchers at Columbia University included 26,316 participants in their study; 2.7 percent were Chinese Americans, 4.9 percent were Hispanic, 43.2 percent were non-Hispanic black, and 49.3 percent were non-Hispanic white.

Eleven percent of participants had less than a high school education, 42.2 percent had low family income, and 2.2 percent were unemployed. The researchers also examined neighborhood education, poverty and unemployment.

In addition to a 39 percent increased risk among people with less than a high school education, they found a 35 percent increased risk of ASCVD for people with annual household incomes less than $35,000 compared to those with higher incomes.

They also found a 28 percent higher risk of ASCVD for people living in neighborhoods with a high proportion of residents living below the federal poverty line.

Educational level has long been associated with increased risk of heart disease: more than 1 in 2 people with less than a high school education have a CVD event in their lifetime.

An American Heart Association study found that people with only a primary or secondary education had a 52 percent increased risk of death from any cause compared to those with a graduate degree.

This could be related to poorer health education, either due to dropping out of school or attending an underfunded school.

Dr. Arshed Quyyumi, a professor of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, who co-led the study, said: “We adjusted for everything that would be a risk determinant, and despite all that, only educational level was an independent predictor.” of result.

‘What is striking is the importance of the role of education. Most of us professionals do not ask patients about their educational level when we see them, and we do not take any extra precautions when we discover that someone may not be as well educated as someone else.’