POOR EDUCATION RAISES BLOOD PRESSURE
Dr. Pinna says:
This article, like most good scientific articles from the BBC gives only part of the truth, but it is highly informative! High blood pressure is an area in which I have expertise.
Original article from BBC News
Despite exam stress, a long stint in education is good for people’s blood pressure, according to researchers in the US.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is linked to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.
The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, shows the link is stronger in women than in men. The British Heart Foundation said the findings supported the link between deprivation and heart disease risk.
Higher levels of education have been linked to lower levels of heart disease. The researchers suggest that blood pressure could be the reason why. The study looked at 30 years of data from 3,890 people who were being followed as part of the Framingham Offspring Study. People were divided into three groups, low education (12 years or less), middle education (13 to 16 years) and high education (17 years or more).
The average systolic blood pressure for the 30 year period was then calculated.
PREDISPOSITION
Women with low education had a blood pressure 3.26 mmHg higher than those with a high level of education. In men the difference was 2.26 mmHg.
Other factors, such as smoking, taking blood pressure medication and drinking, were taken into consideration and the effect on blood pressure remained, although at a much lower level.
Writing in the journal, the researchers says: “Low educational attainment has been demonstrated to predispose individuals to high strain jobs, characterised by high levels of demand and low levels of control, which have been associated with elevated blood pressure.”
Professor Eric Loucks, who conducted the study at Brown University, said: “Women with less education are more likely to be experiencing depression, they are more likely to be single parents, more likely to be living in impoverished areas and more likely to be living below the poverty line.”
Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “These findings support existing evidence about the link between socio-economic deprivation and heart disease risk. However, the study only showed up a small blood pressure drop among women and an insignificant decrease among men. Action is needed across all parts of society to give children the best possible start in life and reduce health inequalities.”
Dr. Pinna says:
As I stated above, this article is only partly true. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a complex disease. It is primarily genetic! Some Caucasians and many people with African genes have a strong tendency to hypertension. It is irrelevant whether they are educated or not. I know dozens of highly educated people, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, who have hypertension.
HOWEVER, when you take an entire population, those who have a genetic propensity for hypertension and are not educated, will do all the things necessary to produce it:
1. Become obese
2. Eat salt
3. Not exercise
4. Avoid medical treatment.
I call this the “Wearing Down Process.”
People who are uneducated disappear from the planet faster than their brothers and sisters. From one point of view, this is very good for Mankind. We don’t need and we do not want uneducated people….
