Healthy mind, healthy body: Florida TaxWatch report links education access to health outcomes

The old adage, “healthy body, healthy mind,” also works in reverse.

A new report from Florida TaxWatch examines how access to education impacts health. The nonprofit’s finding? Those who want to live longer, healthier lives should hit the books.

The report, “Social Determinants of Health: Education Access and Quality,” is the second in a five-part commentary series by Florida TaxWatch about how social and environmental factors like age and economic background impact people’s physical well-being.

Nearly all health outcomes are strongly patterned by education.

People with higher education levels are more likely to live longer. A Florida TaxWatch analysis of more than 600 studies across more than 50 countries suggests that, on average, an adult with 12 years of education has a 24.5% lower risk of mortality compared to an adult with no schooling.

On average, each year of schooling lowers the risk of mortality by 1.9%.

A recent Princeton study of death records from 1992 to 2021 that included information on educational attainment found that future life expectancy for an average college-educated individual was 84 years.

Conversely, those without a college degree could expect to live about 8.5 years less.

People with higher levels of education are more likely to be healthy throughout their lives, too. Less-educated adults generally report worse overall health, more chronic conditions, more functional limitations and more disability. They’re also more likely to smoke, less likely to exercise and more likely to have unhealthy diets.

People with lower socioeconomic status are at greater risk of health issues. Studies suggest Americans at all income levels are less healthy than those with incomes higher than their own.

Low-income adults are more likely than their affluent peers to report being in fair or poor health, and to report having activity limitations due to chronic illness.

Education can also help control the cost of health care and generate broader economic returns. Nationwide, roughly 80% of Medicaid spending is for people with chronic ailments like cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, which occur at higher rates among populations with lower education levels. One 2011 study found that if the health status of less educated people was the same as their college-educated peers, the related improvements in health would save more than $1 trillion.

In Florida, human services and education spending make up a significant portion of the state budget, at $47.7 billion (40.2%) and $31.9 billion (27%), respectively.

Access to high-quality early education leads to better adult health as well. Research shows that children from low-income families who participate in quality learning programs show benefits that extend well into adulthood.

The benefits include higher levels of educational achievement and earnings, health improvements like reductions in smoking and lower risk of heart disease, public benefits included in reduced societal cost, such as reduced crime, and higher tax revenues.

Research also found that children born into homes with fewer economic resources learn fewer words, have fewer experiences with words in interactions with other people, and build their vocabulary slower.

“Why is this important? Because vocabulary development during a child’s early years directly affects their ability to read and comprehend, which affects their academic performance,” Florida TaxWatch personnel wrote. “Children cannot understand what they are reading if they do not know what words mean.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 90% of adults find it difficult to understand and use health information when it’s filled with complex or unfamiliar terms. People with inadequate health literacy also had an average stay of 12.5 days in the hospital compared to 7.5 days for those with adequate health literacy.

Click here to read the full report. Click here to access the first part of Florida TaxWatch’s health-related series, “Social Determinants of Health: Health Care Access and Quality.”