Citation

Batty GD, Deary IJ. Inj. Prev. 2005; 11(5): 318-319.

Affiliation

MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, 4 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, UK; david-b@msoc.mrc.gla.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2005.009753

PMID

16203843

PMCID

PMC1730281

Abstract

We read with interest the paper by Borrell and colleagues in the June issue of Injury Prevention which reported on the relation between educational level and the risk of transportation injury mortality in nine European cohorts. An inverse association was reported in men but not women. We believe that findings from the field of cognitive (intelligence) epidemiology may inform the discussions pertaining to the underlying mechanisms. Here, we define intelligence (denoted as IQ and assessed using written psychometric tests) as an individual's ability to learn, reason, and solve problems. Recent reports of extended follow ups of individuals who sat intelligence tests in childhood reveal relations between IQ scores and later health outcomes, including total mortality, coronary heart disease, and suicide. That is, people with lower IQ in early life experience a greater risk of these outcomes in adulthood.