Scholarlink

Aim <p>While the individual health benefits of education are well-established, the population-level health returns of educational expansion remain underexplored. This study examined how Germany's educational expansion over two decades has been associated with population health changes.</p> Subject and methods <p>Using data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) spanning 2004-2023 (<i>N</i> = 33,956 aged 20+), we calculated the Prevented Fraction for the Population (PFP) for poor self-rated health, estimating the proportion of poor health cases prevented by higher education in the population over time.</p> Results <p>Higher education was associated with a reduced risk of poor health that remained relatively constant, whereas the prevalence of higher education doubled over time. Thus, overall PFP increased from 6.5% to 26.2%, indicating that higher education in the population was associated with preventing more than a fourth of poor health cases in 2023. Age-stratified analyses revealed the strongest effects among younger adults (20-39 years), where PFP increased from 16.3% to 53.3% over the study period, with more moderate effects in middle-aged adults and smaller effects in older adults.</p> Conclusion <p>Educational expansion has been associated with substantial population health returns, with benefits accumulating as educational attainment increases across cohorts. While these findings are associative in nature, they align with a growing body of causal evidence supporting education's protective health effects. Educational policies should be recognized as integral components of public health strategy.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Educational expansion and its population-level health returns

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月15日

查看全文
  • Johannes Beller,
  • Batoul Safieddine,
  • Siegfried Geyer,
  • Stefanie Sperlich

摘要

Aim

While the individual health benefits of education are well-established, the population-level health returns of educational expansion remain underexplored. This study examined how Germany's educational expansion over two decades has been associated with population health changes.

Subject and methods

Using data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) spanning 2004-2023 (N = 33,956 aged 20+), we calculated the Prevented Fraction for the Population (PFP) for poor self-rated health, estimating the proportion of poor health cases prevented by higher education in the population over time.

Results

Higher education was associated with a reduced risk of poor health that remained relatively constant, whereas the prevalence of higher education doubled over time. Thus, overall PFP increased from 6.5% to 26.2%, indicating that higher education in the population was associated with preventing more than a fourth of poor health cases in 2023. Age-stratified analyses revealed the strongest effects among younger adults (20-39 years), where PFP increased from 16.3% to 53.3% over the study period, with more moderate effects in middle-aged adults and smaller effects in older adults.

Conclusion

Educational expansion has been associated with substantial population health returns, with benefits accumulating as educational attainment increases across cohorts. While these findings are associative in nature, they align with a growing body of causal evidence supporting education's protective health effects. Educational policies should be recognized as integral components of public health strategy.