Growing Health Disparities by Educational Attainment

Education leads to better health for reasons not fully understood. An Urban Institute study takes a closer look at health disparities by educational attainment and trends over time. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, the researchers examine the self-reported health of people aged 19 to 64, dividing the population into two groups—those with at least some college education and those with no college experience...

Percent of 19-to-64-year-olds with fair or poor health, 2017
Any college: 6.8%
No college: 16.8%

Percent of 19-to-64-year-olds with an activity limitation, 2017
Any college: 8.3%
No college: 17.2%

Percent of 19-to-64-year-olds who are obese, 2017
Any college: 29.3%
No college: 36.0%

Percent of 19-to-64-year-olds with moderate/severe psychological distress, 2017
Any college: 9.8%
No college: 15.9%

Health disparities by educational attainment have not only persisted for decades, the researchers find, but in many cases they are growing. Take activity limitations, for example. In 1999, there was a 6.2 percentage-point gap in the percentage with an activity limitation by educational attainment—14.4 percent of those with no college education versus 8.3 percent of those with any college experience. By 2017, the gap had grown to 8.9 percentage points because a larger share of the less educated (17.2 percent) reported an activity limitation. "Less-educated adults from all racial, ethnic, and geographic groups we studied have seen declines in health over time," the researchers conclude.

Source: Urban Institute, Education and Health: Long-Term Trends by Race, Ethnicity, and Geography, 1997–2017