According to a new study from the University of Colorado, New York University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that between 1945 and 2010 about 145,000 deaths could be attributed to people simply not earning a high school diploma.
“…the number of deaths we can attribute to finishing high school or not is on par with the difference between current and former smokers,” says Virginia Change, a public-health professor at NYU who was involved in the research.
Statistically, many of those deaths can be pinned to the different lifestyles led by graduates and non-graduates: The latter are more likely to smoke, be obese, and have high blood pressure—all factors that lead to heart disease. While life expectancy in the United States continues to rise, Chang says, “those with more education are reaping the most benefits.” (The Atlantic)