Literacy news
New study reveals less educated people 'will age faster'
11 May 2011
The study, which looked at 400 men and women, says people with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly. DNA evidence suggests cellular ageing is more advanced in adults with no qualifications compared with those who have a university degree.
Experts think education might help people lead more healthy lives, suggesting that it may enable people to make better decisions that affect their long term health. They also speculate that well qualified people might be under less long-term stress, or be better able to deal with stress.
Professor Andrew Steptoe, from University College London, and his team took blood from more than 400 men and women aged between 53 and 75. They then measured the length of sections of DNA found at the ends of chromosomes called 'telemores'.
The results showed that people with lower educational attainment had shorter telomeres, indicating that they may age faster.
Professor Steptoe said:
Education is a marker of social class that people acquire early in life, and our research suggests that it is long-term exposure to the conditions of lower status that promotes accelerated cellular ageing."
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said the research reinforces the need to tackle social inequalities to combat ill-health.
Read more at BBC News.
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