The recent Wisconsin State Journal story on county health rankings carried the headline “Go to college and you might live longer.” It displayed data that in Dane County, people with less than a high school education are three more times likely to die before age 65 than those with more than a high school education. How could a social factor like education be so important in producing longer and healthier lives?
Kindig is an emeritus professor of the UW-Madison Medical School’s Department of Population Health Sciences.