Smart children tend to live longer than their less intelligent peers, a new study suggests.
The analysis by Scottish researchers, published by medical journal BMJ, tracked 75,252 men and women born in 1936 who had taken standardized intelligence tests in 1947.
By 2015, researchers confirmed a cause of death for 25,979 of them; 30,464 were still living in Britain.
"In a whole national population year of birth cohort followed over the life course from age 11 to age 79, higher scores on a well validated childhood intelligence test were associated with lower risk of mortality ascribed to coronary heart disease and stroke, cancers related to smoking (particularly lung and stomach), respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, injury, and dementia," the researchers wrote.
According to The New York Times, even after controlling for smoking, the link to lower scores on the intelligence tests didn't disappear. The study found no association of lower intelligence with cancers unrelated to smoking or with suicide, but there was a strong association with death by accidental injury.
"We don’t know yet why intelligence from childhood and longevity are related, and we are keeping an open mind," senior author, Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh told the Times.
"Lifestyles, education, deprivation and genetics may all play a part."
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