TY - JOUR
T1 - Childhood intelligence predicts premature mortality
T2 - Results from a 40-year population-based longitudinal study
AU - Wrulich, Marius
AU - Stadler, Gertraud
AU - Brunner, Martin
AU - Keller, Ulrich
AU - Martin, Romain
N1 - Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a grant from the Luxembourg Fonds National de la Recherche (VIVRE FNR/06/09/18) and a PhD scholarship awarded to the first author by the Fonds National de la Recherche.
PY - 2015/10
Y1 - 2015/10
N2 - Childhood intelligence has been shown to predict mortality risk in adulthood. This relation has never been investigated in a Central European country with universal health care. The present study investigated whether childhood intelligence predicts mortality risk across 40 years in Luxembourg. 2543 participants completed an intelligence test at age 12 in 1968, and the mortality rate in this sample until 2008 was recorded. Our results showed that higher childhood intelligence predicted a lower risk for mortality, even when childhood socioeconomic status was controlled for. This effect was strongest in men belonging to the group of the lowest 20% in intelligence. These results indicate that even universal access to health care cannot fully offset the cumulative effects of intelligence on mortality.
AB - Childhood intelligence has been shown to predict mortality risk in adulthood. This relation has never been investigated in a Central European country with universal health care. The present study investigated whether childhood intelligence predicts mortality risk across 40 years in Luxembourg. 2543 participants completed an intelligence test at age 12 in 1968, and the mortality rate in this sample until 2008 was recorded. Our results showed that higher childhood intelligence predicted a lower risk for mortality, even when childhood socioeconomic status was controlled for. This effect was strongest in men belonging to the group of the lowest 20% in intelligence. These results indicate that even universal access to health care cannot fully offset the cumulative effects of intelligence on mortality.
KW - childhood intelligence
KW - premature mortality
KW - socioeconomic status
KW - universal health care
U2 - 10.1016/j.jrp.2015.06.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jrp.2015.06.003
M3 - Article
VL - 58
SP - 6
EP - 10
JO - Journal of Research in Personality
JF - Journal of Research in Personality
ER -