This is quite an interesting article as read from the title alone. It was from MSNBC health but they got it from Reuter so its essentially from Reuter. Anyway, so here it is: " NEW YORK - Smarter children may enjoy longer lives, the results of a new study suggest.
The study, which followed elderly adults deemed gifted by childhood IQ tests, found that the higher their early IQs were, the longer they lived -- up to a point, at least. The survival advantage began to plateau after a childhood IQ of 163, an intelligence level few people reach.
Dr. Laurie T. Martin and Laura D. Kubzansky of the Harvard School of Public Health report these findings in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Though the reasons for the link between IQ and longevity are not clear, it does not appear to be merely a reflection of income and social position. As children, the participants were from affluent families and most were white. Yet childhood IQ was still a factor in their lifespan.
Similarly, in an earlier study of Americans with more varied childhood IQs and family incomes, Martin found that IQ was related to health problems independently of socioeconomics.
This, she told Reuters Health, suggests that IQ affects longevity among lower-income people as well.
As research has already linked IQ to mortality, the current study, according to Martin, was in part an attempt to see how far the IQ-health advantage extends. The researchers expected there to be a cutoff at which a high IQ no longer brought any extra health benefits.
And there was. But, Martin said, they were surprised at how high that cutoff turned out to be.
IQs of 163 or higher are not often seen; the average IQ score in the general population is 100 (by definition), and children who score above 130 are considered “gifted.”
Smarter children, healthier habits
The current study is based on data from 862 men and women followed since childhood, starting in 1922, until 1986. All had childhood IQs of 135 or higher, with the average being 151.
The researchers found that, up to the cutoff point of 163, participants’ risk of dying during a given period decreased as their IQ increased; for example, those with a childhood IQ of 150 had a 44 percent lower risk of death than those with an IQ of 135.
Though it’s not clear why childhood IQ itself might affect a person’s lifetime health, Martin and Kubzansky point to several possibilities. For one, these children may be more likely to take up healthy habits like regular exercise, while shunning health risks like smoking. They are also more likely to get high-paying, prominent jobs as adults, with all the advantages that confers.
And in general, Martin noted, IQ scores reflect a “set of skills,” like reasoning, planning and communication, that affect how people manage their health -- from talking with their doctors to dealing with a complex healthcare system.
Understanding exactly why IQ affects longevity, according to Martin, could ultimately help improve health and healthcare for everyone."
Yep, this is a rather cool article. But from what I think, to me, it just seemed to be an incentive for the very high IQs. For the average, their lifespan are average too. While those with high IQ live longer. If they are those genius kind, at least living longer means they can contribute to the society more too since they are cleverer than the average and they are independant of their socioeconomic status. So its quite fair. And anyway, some high IQ ones are those born with it so its somewhat genetic and if its genetic then probably the genes are "tougher" and so they live longer. Oh yea, and I watched this documentary yesterday on Channelnewsasia, and its abt "Global dimming", its actually happening now and the most impt point that they mentioned is that if we dun control global warming, if warm temp sort of overrides the cool temp, then by 2030 (from one of the models) , the world will warm by 4 degrees and by then, all the ice sheets from Greenland could melt, tropical rain forests could wither and burn from the heat, there'll be heat stroke and many more. By 2100, the world might warm by 10 degrees. So unless we do something, these predictions might be true. [ all the info should be like that, I was quite engrossed in the show to catch some of the words] The documentary called "A species' odyssey" is just great too. It's about the evolution of men and I think it started from Australopithecus anamensis (I didnt realli catch the name) yep and it was in two parts, and it went all the way to Homo Sapiens. Its one of the best documentaries I've watched so far.
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