上大学能让人长寿？

　　Higher education could help you live longer, according to a study。

　　It found people who went to college or university had lower blood pressure as they aged than those whose education finished when they left school in their teens。

　　With high blood pressure doubling the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, according to the Blood Pressure Association, the finding suggests a good education could save your life。

　　The biggest health benefits were found among those with master's degrees or doctorates, and were stronger for women, the journal BMC Public Health reports。

　　Researchers at Brown University, Rhode Island, who tracked the health of nearly 4,000 American men and women for 30 years, also found highly educated men tended to be thinner and smoked and drank less than those without further education。

　　Well-educated women also smoked less and were thinner - but drank more than those who did not go to college or university。

　　The jobs taken by school-leavers may also impact on health。

　　study leader Eric Loucks said: "Low educational attainment has been demonstrated to predispose individuals to high strain jobs, characterized by high levels of demand and low levels of control, which have been associated with elevated blood pressure."

　　He isn't sure why women's blood pressure is particularly affected by education - or the lack of it. But it may that lack of education affects a woman's lifestyle, and so her physical health, more than a man's。

　　Dr Loucks 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."

　　"Socio-economic gradients in health are very complex. But there's a questions of what do we do about it."

　　"One of the big potential areas to intervene on is education."

　　The British Heart Foundation cautioned that the differences in blood pressure noted were small but added: "Action is needed across all parts of society to give children the best possible start in life and reduce health inequalities."

　　Education has also been linked with warding off Alzheimer's. But it may be the case that when the condition does hit, it hits harder and progresses faster。