**Intelligence and Mortality**:
– Strong inverse correlation between early life intelligence and mortality across populations.
– Link between cognitive ability and risk of death in Swedish men.
– Similar relationship between IQ and mortality in former US soldiers.
– Association between childhood intelligence and mortality, especially in old age.
– Positive correlation between socioeconomic position and health.
**Physical Health Outcomes**:
– Men with higher IQ have lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease.
– Lower intelligence correlates with increased risk of obesity.
– Higher intelligence linked to lower blood pressure and risk of hypertension.
– Lower intelligence associated with greater risk of stroke.
– Inconsistent link between cancer and intelligence in studies.
**Cardiovascular Health**:
– Low verbal, visuospatial, and arithmetic scores predict coronary heart disease.
– Atherosclerosis linked to lower IQ.
– IQ may be an independent risk factor for mortality.
**Psychiatric Disorders**:
– Bipolar disorder characterized by mood swings.
– Anecdotal evidence associates bipolar disorder with high intelligence.
– Lower childhood IQ linked to increased risk of certain psychiatric disorders.
– Relationship between bipolar disorder and intelligence varies with comorbidities.
– Men with extreme intelligence at higher risk of pure bipolar disorder.
**Schizophrenia and Cognition**:
– Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness characterized by abnormal behavior and psychotic episodes.
– Individuals with schizophrenia may struggle with reality perception.
– Schizophrenia impacts cognitive functions like memory and attention.
– Research suggests individuals with higher intelligence may have a lower risk of developing schizophrenia.
– Cognitive abilities may play a protective role against schizophrenia development.
Cognitive epidemiology is a field of research that examines the associations between intelligence test scores (IQ scores or extracted g-factors) and health, more specifically morbidity (mental and physical) and mortality. Typically, test scores are obtained at an early age, and compared to later morbidity and mortality. In addition to exploring and establishing these associations, cognitive epidemiology seeks to understand causal relationships between intelligence and health outcomes. Researchers in the field argue that intelligence measured at an early age is an important predictor of later health and mortality differences.