Inside Higher Ed featured two research studies by Eileen Crimmins of the USC Davis School and Julie Zissimopoulos of the USC Schaeffer Center – who worked on the second study with Crimmins – that found college-educated Americans live longer without dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and how chronic disease impacts the onset of dementia-related conditions. Crimmins’ first study found a college education was a strong indicator of more years spent with a healthy mind. Zissimopoulos and Crimmins found that reducing cases of chronic disease, like hypertension and diabetes, did improve health and life expectancy, but increased the number of years spent with dementia.
