Smart kids’ longevity is a brain-teaser

School swots who faced a ribbing from their classmates for being too brainy will have the last laugh, according to a new study which found that a high IQ in childhood is linked to a longer life.

Researchers at Edinburgh University, Oxford University and University College London followed up more than 65 000 people who took part in the Scottish Mental Survey in 1947, at the age of 11, to find out if intelligence as a youngster had affected their lives.

They discovered that by the age of 79, people with a high IQ had lower risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, cancer or respiratory diseases.

Such people also had a lower risk of dying from injuries, digestive diseases and dementia.

“I’m being optimistic about these results,” said Professor Ian Deary, of the University of Edinburgh, who led the research. “I’m hoping it means that if we can find out what smart people do and copy them, then we have a chance of a slightly longer and healthier life.

“We don’t fully know yet why intelligence from childhood and longevity are related, and we are keeping an open mind.

“Lifestyles [such as not smoking], education, health literacy, less deprivation, and genetics might all play a part. We and other research teams are testing these ideas.”

The lower risk of death remained even when accounting for factors which could have influenced the results.

Every jump of 15 IQ points was associated with a 28% reduced risk of death from respiratory disease, a 25% reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease, and a 24% lower risk of death from a stroke.

It means that a person with an IQ of 115 was 28% more likely to have avoided death from respiratory disease at age 76 than one with an IQ of 100 (the average for the general population).

Fifteen more IQ points also cut the chance of dying from bladder cancer by 19%, lung cancer by 25% and bowel cancer by 11%.

The researchers said people with higher IQs were more likely to look after their health and are less likely to smoke. They also tended to do more exercise, wear their seatbelts and seek medical attention when ill.

Other evidence suggests IQ may be an indicator of good genes and the efficiency of the central nervous system. Recent research found that fast reaction time is linked to lowered risk of early death and high IQ.