Paradoxes in Health and Education

Oct 12

Existing Beliefs

For many households, higher education isn’t just encouraged — it’s an expectation. Parents often push their children towards university, professional/graduate schooling, or a trade, believing it’s the surest path to stability and success. And honestly, they’re not so wrong: years of data show us that more schooling is linked with several quality of life indicators, such as economic status, happiness levels, and health outcomes.

A study released in 2020 assessing education and health indicators in over 38 countries revealed that adults with higher educational attainment have better health and life expectancy compared to their less-educated peers. Tertiary education, in particular, influences outcomes like infant mortality rates, child vaccination, and family life expectancy.

The government of Canada lists several determinants of health, which include income, social status, access to health resources, and education and literacy. While biology and genetics are powerful health determinants, a growing body of research highlights education and literacy as critical factors shaping long-term health. In this article, I explore causes for certain outcomes in health and education, and ultimately challenge the widely accepted belief that education is an indisputable predictor for health, wellness, and happiness.

So what?

But what if higher education isn’t your path? Perhaps seeking a professional or graduate degree isn’t financially viable, or it simply isn’t appealing.

Education isn’t the whole story. Let’s explore two paradoxes that flip the script.

“The Russian Paradox”

The Russian education paradox — used as an argument for the detriments of high levels of education and low levels of human capital — describes Russia’s unique situation of having high educational outcomes across the country, despite strikingly poor health outcomes, innovative capacity, and economic capital from labor. While Russia’s educational profile matches closely with its Western European neighbors, with whom it shares many sociodemographic characteristics, its adult mortality rates land in the middle of severely impoverished countries. Why?

Researchers point to structural issues: while Russia has many physicians, too few are adequately trained. Political and systemic upheavals in recent decades have also weakened healthcare systems and delivery. In this case, the nation’s considerable schooling efforts contribute only mildly to positive health outcomes, showing that structural and institutional quality ultimately shape health outcomes.

“The Latinx Paradox”

I learned about the Latinx Paradox in my Debating Multiculturalism course a few semesters ago. Upon hearing about this phenomenon, I was intrigued, even writing my 10-page final paper on its potential causes and implications for public health.

The idea is that while the Hispanic population has lower average income and education and higher incidences of metabolic and cardiovascular illnesses, their mortality rates still match considerably well with non-Hispanic white counterparts. Across over 50 studies, Hispanic populations had a 17.5% lower risk of mortality compared to the rest of the population. This epidemiological finding challenges the near-universal association between low socioeconomic status and worse population health.

Researchers largely attribute this to cultural strengths: strong support systems, dietary traditions (including legumes such as beans and lentils), and social cohesion. New immigrants, in particular, faced better health outcomes than those who had stayed in the US for longer, suggesting that some level of assimilation into American society erodes these benefits.

Statistical biases, which push the “healthy migrant” narrative that the healthiest and strongest individuals are typically the ones to immigrate, have largely been refuted by researchers as insignificant contributors to the Latinx paradox.

Unfortunately, since the 2010s, the effects of the Latinx Paradox in America have decreased significantly, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, where Hispanic death rates increased disproportionately compared to other populations. However, the Latinx Paradox is still widely cited as an outlier instance of a population group with low educational outcomes having exceptionally positive health outcomes, serving as an important reminder that culture and community can buffer against socioeconomic disadvantage.

Conclusion

Education is a powerful determinant of health, but it’s not the only one. Around the world, people lack access to higher education, while others choose non-academic paths. What these paradoxes show is that structural conditions, culture, diet, and community support can be just as impactful. While formal education IS important, it’s also important to recognize that around the world, not all individuals are afforded this human right, and others may struggle to pave a path for themselves in the academic world.

Education matters, but so do culture, community, and care. Health isn’t just built in classrooms; it’s built on the choices and relationships we nurture in our day-to-day.

Cindy C.