A new study suggests brain tumors are more common in people who are well-educated, have a professional career or a high income than people who are less well-off or not as educated. The study analyzed a medical data of people born between 1911 and 1961 in Sweden. They found that people who had higher education or better professions were on high risk developing brain cancer.
There are three kinds of brain tumors commonly found in people with high education and better jobs, namely: glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma. Gliomas were exceptionally more common in men who had attended a university for at least three years. Similarly, well-educated women were more likely to be diagnosed with glioma and meningioma, as per CBS News.
Study author at the University College London's Institute, Amal Khanolkar, said this does not definitely mean that accomplishments in life contribute to high risk of developing brain tumors. It's only that wealthy people or those with high education that are more inclined to notice if something is wrong with their health and would seek medical care as much as possible. So these groups have enough medical data recorded than other groups.
People holding a professional or managerial job, and having more money to spend, also were factors linked to higher brain tumor risk in both men and women. The team of researchers were interested in investigating the said health inequalities, according to Chicago Tribune.
Gliomas are cancerous tumors that develop in of the nervous system and safeguards neurons, while meningiomas are usually benign tumors arising from the tissues of the brain that serves as a protection to the brain and spinal cord. Acoustic neuromas tend to be benign affecting the nerve used for hearing and balance.
There's very little is known causes of brain tumors, so studies like this are valuable for discovering threads that indicate potential explanations leading to high risk of brain cancer. Of course, the study doesn't mean it prompts parents not to give good education to their children.
