American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on September 8, 2005
American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwi300
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 From the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Recent research suggests that childhood cognitive performance is associated with various health outcomes, but the nature of the relation is not well understood. It is unclear whether the association occurs across the continuum of cognitive performance, and if it is independent of socioeconomic status. Prospective data from the Terman Life Cycle Study were used to evaluate the hypothesis of a monotonic relation between childhood intelligence quotient (IQ) and adult mortality and to determine whether there exists a threshold beyond which the protective effects of IQ are no longer evident. A total of 897 individuals of school age who scored 135 or higher on the Stanford-Binet IQ test were recruited in 1922. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate survival over a 64-year period. A 15-point advantage in childhood IQ was significantly associated with a decreased risk of mortality (hazard ratio = 0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.49, 0.93) for IQ scores up to 163; beyond that, the risk of death plateaued. Results were similar when the sample was limited to those participants whose fathers had nonmanual occupations. Childhood IQ, even at the upper end of the distribution, is a significant predictor of mortality, independent of childhood social position.
Received March 11, 2005
Accepted June 10, 2005
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Childhood Cognitive Performance and Risk of Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study of Gifted Individuals
Laurie T. Martin, E-mail: lthayer{at}hsph.harvard.edu
Abstract 
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. D. Taylor, M. C. Whiteman, G. R. Fowkes, A. J. Lee, M. Allerhand, and I. J. Deary Five Factor Model Personality Traits and All-Cause Mortality in the Edinburgh Artery Study Cohort Psychosom Med, July 1, 2009; 71(6): 631 - 641. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Jokela, M. Elovainio, A. Singh-Manoux, and M. Kivimaki IQ, Socioeconomic Status, and Early Death: The US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Psychosom Med, April 1, 2009; 71(3): 322 - 328. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K Modig-Wennerstad, K Silventoinen, D Batty, P Tynelius, L Bergman, and F Rasmussen Association between offspring intelligence and parental mortality: a population-based cohort study of one million Swedish men and their parents J Epidemiol Community Health, August 1, 2008; 62(8): 722 - 727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. J. Bartram and D. S. Baldwin Veterinary surgeons and suicide: influences, opportunities and research directions Vet Rec., January 12, 2008; 162(2): 36 - 40. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Holsinger, M. Helms, and B. Plassman Intelligence in early adulthood and life span up to 65 years later in male elderly twins Age Ageing, May 1, 2007; 36(3): 286 - 291. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Aapro It is too early to know if intelligence determines cancer incidence and survival Ann. Onc., January 1, 2007; 18(1): 4 - 5. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Voracek Re: "childhood cognitive performance and risk of mortality: a prospective cohort study of gifted individuals". Am. J. Epidemiol., June 15, 2006; 163(12): 1161 - 1162. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. T. Martin and L. D. Kubzansky THE AUTHORS REPLY Am. J. Epidemiol., June 15, 2006; 163(12): 1162 - 1163. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|