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TABLE 5. SUMMARY OF STUDIES LINKING EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND HEALTH STATUS AMONGADULTSThe relationship of education and healthImpact onhealthoutcomesHealth literacy andknowledgeMortality and lifeexpectancyEducation 1Lack of education results in low literacy and thus in poor health. Literacy improveshealth knowledge and skills in managing the disease.Life expectancy increases and all-cause mortality rates decrease in higher educationlevel.Infant mortalityMorbidityEducation seems to play an important role in lowering occurring rate of infant mortalitypredictors.Educated people are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases (except cancer) likearthritis and osteoporosis, heart disease and hypertension, diabetes and lung disease.Probability of reporting the above is 35.7% in those with college degree, 41.6% inthose with high school and 64.7% in those who did not completed the high school.Subjective health(self-rated, healthimpairment andwell-being)Lifestyle riskfactorsSelf-rated health is considered a powerful predictor of clinical outcomes and mortality.Poor or very poor health is reported by 17% of people with elementary education, 11%of those who did not completed the high school, 6% of those with high school and byonly 2.5% of individuals with college degree. Physical impairment as well follows aninverse educational gradient. Education improves the likelihood of people feelingphysically and mentally fit.Educated individuals have a healthier lifestyle due to better use of informationacquired, raised awareness and take actions to reduce such risks. They are likely toexercise more, smoke less, and less likely to drink in excess, to gain weight and sufferfrom cardiovascular diseases or AIDS which are influenced by lifestyle factors.Health care Low literacy seems to predict high health care costs and it is responsible for about $73billion avoidable health care costs in a year.Age-relatedimpact on healthPositive effects of education on health accumulate during life and this accumulationcreates feedbacks that amplify the effect of education over the lifetime. Among theoldest, those with less education present more disability and limitations but noeducational disparities for functional and visual limitations are found.1 Education, in its relation to health, is measured by years of completed formal education or by the highest degree obtained.E-36