The Association of Education and Unhealthy Lifestyles with Mortality Risk in the Chilean Population: A Prospective Analysis of the 2009-2010 National Health Survey.

Unhealthy lifestyles are linked to a higher risk of mortality; however, this association may be more pronounced among individuals with lower education levels.

To analyze the association between unhealthy lifestyles and mortality in a Chilean cohort, considering education level as a potential moderating factor.

A prospective study was conducted with 2,671 participants from the 2009-2010 Chilean National Health Survey. The healthy lifestyle score was based on seven variables: alcohol consumption, urinary sodium, sedentary time, physical activity, smoking, sleep, and fruit and vegetable intake. Education level was categorized into three groups. The outcomes were all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality extracted from the Chilean death register. Cox regression models were used to estimate mortality risk, both in individual and combined analyses, adjusted through four progressive models, and expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

Compared to individuals with a high education level and a healthy lifestyle, those with a low education level and an unhealthy lifestyle showed a 10.7-fold higher risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI: 6.62-17.5), a 10.1-fold higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (95% CI: 3.51-29.4), and a 5.4-fold higher risk of cancer mortality (95% CI: 2.02-14.2).

An unhealthy lifestyle combined with a low education level was associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but not with cancer mortality.
Cancer
Cardiovascular diseases
Access
Advocacy

Authors

Ramírez-Alarcón Ramírez-Alarcón, Labraña Labraña, Martorell Martorell, Villagrán-Cerro Villagrán-Cerro, Parra-Soto Parra-Soto, Reyes-Molina Reyes-Molina, Lanuza Lanuza, Concha-Cisternas Concha-Cisternas, Díaz-Toro Díaz-Toro, Petermann-Rocha Petermann-Rocha, Celis-Morales Celis-Morales, Carrasco-Marín Carrasco-Marín
View on Pubmed
Share
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Linkedin
Copy to clipboard