Different risks, same causes: educational attainment influences when, not from what, we die

Education is a well-established determinant of lifespan and mortality risk. Individuals with lower education levels experience higher mortality from nearly all causes. Yet since everyone ultimately dies from some condition, how does education affect the causes of death? We show that the distribution of causes of death is remarkably similar across education levels in both Denmark and the United States. Despite notable differences in age at death between education groups, the underlying and contributing conditions leading to death remain consistent across education levels. These findings indicate that education mainly influences when people die, not what they die from.