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It has long been known that those who graduated from the university live longer than those who even did not finish their studies at school. From overseas research. Western scientists have even calculated the approximate life expectancy of people with higher education and without it.
But in Russia, such studies could not be carried out for a long time - there was no data. The fact is that information on the level of education of the deceased from 1998 to 2011 was not collected. Only recently did the state statistical bodies take an interest in the social status and educational level of those for whom a death certificate was issued. But confusion still reigns here. Even now, there are a huge number of death certificates that are issued without specifying all the data that Rosstat requests.
Or here's the problem: people who graduated from grade seven in the 1940s are today classified as "no education" or "below secondary education." But at that time the education system was completely different, which means it would be more correct to attribute such people to those who have secondary education.
Moreover, the information provided by the relatives of the deceased is often exaggerated: "Well, let Uncle Kolya be a professor - the deceased will be pleased!" Americans at one time faced a similar problem - it turned out that the information about the level of education that a person himself reports (for example, during the census) and the data that his relatives indicate about him do not coincide in every second case.
- The study was based on Rosstat data on deaths in 2015 and data from the micro-census of the population (it takes place in some regions between the main census - Ed.). Three groups were identified - people with a lower secondary education, with a secondary education and with a higher education. In total, data on 2.2 million people were analyzed. A clear age limit was also chosen - 30 years. It is by this age that people usually finish the education process and move on to active economic activity, - explains the head of the study, researcher at the Center for Demographic Research at the Higher School of Economics, Ph. D. Anastasia Pyankova. - Thus, scientists have calculated the life expectancy of today's 30-year-old Russians, depending on their level of education.
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As a result, it turned out that, on average, today's 30-year-old man can live another 38 years, and a woman - 48.
But men in their 30s with a college degree are likely to live another 48 years, and women 56! The difference in life expectancy between those with a higher education (and possibly a master's degree in their pocket) and those who barely made it to the end of grade 11 is 17.5 years, and between women - 14.5 years.
It is strange at first glance: why is the difference for men greater than 17 years, and for women - 3 years less?
- I think, despite the level of education, women are still less prone to risky behavior, - explains Anastasia. - But men are less attentive to their health and are more often victims of external threats, for example, they die in an accident.
Interestingly, the higher the education, the smaller the difference in life expectancy between men and women. This means that highly educated men and women are more similar in their habits and lifestyles to each other than less educated representatives of both sexes.
And how it was before
Additionally, the researchers compared the figures obtained with those of the late 80s and 90s. It turned out that for both women and men with secondary and lower secondary education, life expectancy has decreased. For example, in 1989, a 30-year-old man with no higher education could live on average another 35 years, and for 2015 this figure dropped to 29.
“First, during the Soviet era, during the anti-alcohol campaign, the highest level of life expectancy was achieved, to which we have only recently returned,” the researcher says. - And, secondly, the structure of education was different then. That is, people with low education 30 years ago were still noticeably different from those with little education today.
The reasons for longevity
Of course, a diploma of higher education does not automatically mean that a person is guaranteed a long life. The researchers emphasize: less educated citizens are more likely to suffer from infectious diseases, diseases of the respiratory and digestive organs. Why? Because they are less concerned with their health.
At the same time, the lifestyle and working conditions of people with higher education are fundamentally different from those faced by less educated fellow citizens.
Less educated citizens are more likely to get sick and, in general, take less care of their health. Photo: OLEG UKLADOV / kp.ru
And how are they?
It is difficult to compare the results of the Russian study with the indicators of similar studies in European countries. Scientists use different types of data and ways to evaluate them. However, Pyankova argues that it is possible to compare the general development trends:
- The fundamental difference between us and Europe is that their life expectancy for both highly educated and low-educated people is growing, although there is still a gap. And in our country, the life expectancy of highly educated people is growing, while those of poorly educated people are falling.
The fact is that the number of people with high education in our country is growing rapidly. And the group of those who cannot boast of extensive knowledge remains practically constant and has stable habits that contribute to early mortality.
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