Cancer risk Intellect Academics are more likely to develop brain tumors

Academics seem to have greater brain tumor risk
It is generally believed that educated people maintain a healthier lifestyle and therefore have a lower risk of disease. However, a recent study has found that academics are more likely to develop brain tumors. The cause is unclear to the researchers.

Education is considered a factor in healthy lifestyle
In recent years, research has repeatedly shown that education brings with it a health benefit. Recently, a study was published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine, according to which a high level of education can reduce our risk of dementia. However, negative effects have also been reported: According to German researchers, higher levels of education are more likely to cause short-sightedness. However, an international team of scientists has found a much more dramatic link between education and health risks: people who have studied are more likely to develop brain tumors.

Although education is known to contribute to a healthier lifestyle, researchers have found that academics are more likely to develop brain tumors. However, they can not explain the connection. (Image: kasto / fotolia.com)

University graduates are more likely to develop brain tumors
As the researchers report in the Journal of Epidemiology, university graduates are more likely to contract brain tumors than people with low formal education. This was the result of a study by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet and University College London. In particular, gliomas occurred more frequently in people who have attended university for at least three years. The basis for these study results was the analysis of the data of more than 4.3 million Swedes born between 1911 and 1961 and observed for seven years from 1993 onwards.

Results surprised even the researchers
The lead author of the study, Amal R. Khanolkar of the London Institute of Child Care, said it was a "surprising result that is not easy to explain," according to a report by the British Telegraph. The team of scientists found that the risk of brain tumors in people with at least three years of university education is 19 percent higher than the risk of leaving the school after nine years. For women, the data even points to a 23 percent increased risk. The researchers focused on three different types of brain tumors in their study. The formal educational level of the affected patients was also considered. According to the study authors, the risk of disease was higher among academics in all three tumor types than in those with less formal education. It is said that this association was the most pronounced in glioma tumors-most of which cause death.

No explanation for context
However, the scientists can provide no explanation for this relationship. "We have no reason to believe that stress is a potential risk factor," explained Amal R. Khanolkar. Both environmental factors and the lifestyle of the patients are possible. However, this is speculation, as an observational study according to the team can not draw conclusions about cause and effect. (Ad)