Lower Education Levels Increase Survival Uncertainty

Trends and Characteristics of Mortality Inequality by Educational Level

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] A study has found that the lower the educational level, the greater the uncertainty of survival.

According to the 'Trends and Characteristics of Mortality Inequality by Educational Level' published by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs on the 21st, the modal age at death was lower for those with lower educational levels. The modal age at death refers to the age at which the most people die.

As of 2015, the modal age at death for men with a college degree or higher was 86.9 years, while for those with a high school diploma or less, it was 83.96 years. For women, the modal age at death was 90.34 years for college graduates or higher and 89.71 years for high school graduates or less.

Furthermore, the frequency of death was higher across a wider age range for those with lower educational levels. Looking at the shortest age interval covering 50% of deaths as of 2015, it was 12.51 years for men with a college degree or higher and 15.51 years for men with a high school diploma or less. For women, the gap was also evident with 10.74 years for college graduates and 12.19 years for high school graduates or less.

This result shows that the variance increases as the educational level decreases. An increase in variance means greater uncertainty in survival.

Although variance also shows disparities by educational level like the modal age at death, the gap has been decreasing over time. The variance gap in age at death between college graduates and high school graduates or less has slightly decreased from 3.34 years (1985) to 3 years (2015) for men, and from 1.96 years (1985) to 1.45 years (2015) for women.

The research team stated, "The greater variance in groups with lower educational levels means that there is more uncertainty surrounding the survival period of each individual member in that group."

They added, "Groups with lower social status have relatively less access to material and non-material resources, so they lack the capacity for systematic management when diseases occur," and analyzed that "this is likely to lead to an increase in the observed variance in age at death."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.