More years of education may reduce heart disease risk: Study

Extending the years of childhood education may reduce adult heart disease risk, a recent study suggests.According to the team of researchers, people with more education may have reduced heart disease because they have higher incomes, allowing them to afford better food and health careThe findings suggest that state policies requiring children to attend additional years of school may result in a reduced risk for heart disease and improvements in several cardiovascular risk factors in adulthood.As part of the study, the researchers conducted a natural experiment by evaluating state compulsory schooling laws, which legislate the number of years children must attend school.From two large, national surveys conducted from 1971 to 2012, they identified more than 75,000 people born from 1900 to 1950, when states required children to attend school between 0 and 12 years. They then used U.S. Census data on a group of similar individuals to predict the number of years of required schooling for ..