The Effect of Education on Mortality among Older Taiwanese and its Pathways

Abstract

The present research examines the impact of education on the mortality of older Taiwanese during a 4-year interval from April 1989 to April 1993. Data used for this study come from the Taiwan Survey of Health & Living Status of the Elderly (1989). The research decomposes the effect of education into the direct effect and the indirect effects by means of health status, health behaviors, and social relationships. We have shown that, of the total effect of educational attainment on the mortality of older Taiwanese, about 83% represents indirect influences by means of the 3 mediating factors, particularly health status. On the other hand, the magnitude of the direct effect, which might reflect influences of additional intervening variables on old-age mortality, is low and not statistically significant. The results demonstrate that the apparent strong effect of education on mortality among older Taiwanese can be accounted for parsimoniously through 3 major pathways.

Predictors of 10-year mortality in a population of community-dwelling Brazilian elderly: the Bambuí cohort study of aging

“…With exception of an increased risk associated with T. cruzi infection, other predictors of mortality were highly consistent with those found in more affluent elderly populations in Brazil 5 and other countries 6,8,9,10,11,13,14,16,17,18,19,20 . Our results support the hypothesis that most predictors of mortality in old age do not vary across populations.…”

“…Cohort studies have documented a positive relationship between marriage and longer life expectancy 8,9,10 , but this association was not replicated by others 13,15,19 . Two of the above mentioned studies categorized conjugal status into four groups, and used "having been widowed" 13 or "unmarried elderly" 15 as the reference category.…”

“…However, most population-based cohort studies of elderly persons have not shown an association between schooling and mortality. The absence of an association was observed in different settings and contexts, such as large urban areas in Brazil 5 and in India 15 , in Mexican Americans residing in different cities of the United States 19 , in Taiwanese elderly 10 and in Danish nonagenarians 13 . In our study, an initial association between low schooling level and increased risk of mortality was found, but the hazard ratio lost statistical significance after adjustments for self-rated health and common mental disorders.…”

“…Life expectancy at birth is higher for females than for males and this advantage persists in old age 3,4,5,6,7,8 . Studies have documented a protective effect of having a spouse on the risk of mortality 8,9,10 . Self-rated health is a universal predictor of mortality in both young and older adults.…”

Gender, Aging and Widowhood

“…Processes of urbanization and modernization in many developing countries are accompanied by increases in alcohol and tobacco use, as well as vehicular and industrial accidents -each of which affects men more often than women (Kinsella and Velkoff 2001). Additionally, as the educational and literacy gap between men and women erodes in developing nations, women are expected to enjoy further strides in health and life expectancy, as education is a powerful predictor of health status and survival (Liu et al 1998). …”