This story is part of a series on health inequities in the United States and their impact on length of life. These articles will focus specifically on factors related to poverty, race, and geography.
In an increasingly competitive job market, many recent studies have found that a college degree, which was once an entry level requirement for a well paying job, may not be as important as in years past. In fact, many workers without higher education degrees are finding that they’re able to enjoy comparable salaries to those with degrees without the ever growing burden of student debt.
These trends, however, may be overlooking the large impact a college degree has on personal health. Studies of health inequities have shown that college graduates have tend to have greater access to healthcare, greater salaries, safer jobs, and safer housing than those without which contributes to longer, healthier lives.
As many health inequity studies show, poverty and lack of health insurance can have very large negative impacts on health. Those with higher degrees often have higher self reported health ratings and lower rates of heart disease, depression, and diabetes than those with up to a high school diploma. Those who live in poverty, however, tend to have worse health outcomes and are often unable to pursue college degrees due to the rising cost of education.
Along with other social determinants of health including poverty and health insurance access, inequities in education are closely tied to inequities in health. As the landscape of the United States economy changes, however, many who have been systematically barred from pursuing higher education are now finding Bachelor degrees increasingly obsolete. Still, this shift has not been enough to overcome the poverty gap and its resulting health inequities.
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Source: Nature - 🏆 64. / 68 Read more »