Higher education linked to slower aging

People with higher levels of education age at a slower rate than others, according to a British study recently published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. The researchers took DNA samples from roughly 450 people with various levels of education. They measured the length of their telomeres, a section of DNA thought to indicate aging. The shorter the telomeres, the more advanced the aging process. The study found that those with lower levels of education had longer telomeres, while those with fewer, or no, qualifications had shorter ones. "The key implication of this study backs up one of the main messages to have come out of long-term studies . . . that your experiences early in life can have important influences on your health," one of the researchers said.