title: Does education lower allostatic load? A co-twin control study.
abstract: Many studies have found that education is associated with better health, but the causal basis of this association is unclear. The current study used a co-twin control design to examine if differences in years of education within twin pairs predict allostatic load. The strength of this design is that it controls for genetic and other familial confounds shared between twins. The sample consisted of 381 twins (with 292 twins from 146 complete pairs; mean age=57; 61% female) who participated in the biomarker project of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study. Individual-level analyses showed a significant, negative association between years of education and allostatic load, but this association was explained entirely by familial influences shared between twins. The results of this study suggest that schooling does not itself protect against allostatic load.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 E River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic address: naylahamdi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nayla R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Hamdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: ssouth@psych.purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: South
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 E River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic address: krueg038@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Krueger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States
keywords: Allostatic load; Co-twin control; Discordant twin; Education; Health