Only smoking is more harmful than belonging to the intellectual majority
The relationship between low intelligence quotient (IQ, intelligence quotient) and high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases has been known to specialists for a long time, but so far no one has assessed the severity of this relationship compared to the influence of other risk factors, such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. The results of a large-scale study conducted in the UK showed that in terms of the severity of the association with the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and overall mortality, a low IQ is second only to smoking.
Data published in the February issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation in the article "Does IQ predict cardiovascular disease mortality as strongly as established risk factors? Comparison of effect estimates using the West of Scotland Twenty-07 cohort study", obtained by processing information collected during the "West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study" program – a population study aimed at identifying the impact of social factors on human health. As part of this program, 1,145 men and women aged about 55 years were examined in 1987. For the next 20 years, these people were under constant medical supervision. The collected information included data on the height, weight, blood pressure, bad habits, physical activity, education and occupation of participants whose cognitive abilities were assessed using standard intelligence testing.
The results of processing the collected data using a statistical model developed to determine quantitative associations between nine risk factors and mortality from cardiovascular diseases showed that the most important risk factor is smoking, followed by a low IQ. Similar results were obtained when studying the relationship of the same risk factors and the overall mortality of people.
The relative severity of associations was assessed as an "inequality index", which was the ratio of the risk of death (death from cardiovascular diseases) of high-risk people to a similar indicator for low-risk people. Of the five most important risk factors, the highest inequality index (5.58) corresponded to smoking, followed by intelligence quotient (3.76), income (3.20), high systolic pressure (2.61) and sedentary lifestyle (2.06).
The researchers note that there are a number of possible mechanisms that determine the relationship between belonging to the intellectual majority (this is such a politically correct term for defining people with low intelligence :) and a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The most plausible of them is that people with high intelligence lead a healthier lifestyle (quitting smoking, playing sports, etc.), which, in turn, reduces the likelihood of other risk factors, such as excess weight and high blood pressure. Another possible explanation is that the intelligence quotient in a certain way reflects the full range of consequences of exposure to adverse environmental factors (diseases, poor nutrition) that accumulate throughout life.
The head of the study, Dr. (David Batty), believes that doctors need to take into account the IQ of patients when assessing individual risks of developing cardiovascular diseases and formulating lifestyle recommendations.
According to Dr. Batty, until now, experts have explained class differences in people's health status by socio-economic parameters such as the availability of resources (such as education and income), the impact of physical factors at work and at home (such as housing conditions and toxins), as well as behavioral characteristics affecting health (such as smoking and the diet). However, the results of various studies indicate that the above and similar factors cannot explain the differences in the health status of people belonging to different social classes. He notes that, according to the results of the work carried out by him and his colleagues, the intelligence quotient may be a new independent factor partially explaining this phenomenon.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to ScienceDaily: Low IQ among strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease -- second only to cigarette smoking in large population study.
11.02.2010