Life expectancy in the United States is on the increase, but only among people with more than 12 years of education, a new study finds. In fact, those with more than 12 years of education — more than a high school diploma — can expect to live to 82; for those with 12 or fewer years of education, life expectancy is 75. ‘If you look in recent decades, you will find that life expectancy has been increasing, which is good, but when you split this out by better-educated groups, the life expectancy gained is really occurring much more so in the better-educated groups,’ said lead researcher Ellen R. Meara, an assistant professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. ‘The puzzle is why we have been successful in extending life span for some groups. Why haven’t we been successful in getting that for less advantaged groups?’ Meara said. The answer may lie with tobacco, the study found. About one-fifth of the difference in mortality between well-educated and less-educated groups can be accounted for by smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema, Meara said. But the disparity in life expectancy is not only […]