Australian males aged 25 years with a high level of education (completion of a bachelor's degree or above) have 7.3 years greater life expectancy than men of the same age with lower education (completed year 11 or below).
The Monash University study, published in PharmacoEconomics, found females aged 25 years with a high level of education experienced 3.9 years greater life expectancy than those with low education.
Additionally, the study found a strong link between education status and quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE). QALE is a health measure used in the healthcare decision making context; for example, one QALE year represents living in perfect health for that year. As such, if you have 45 years left to live, and you have a chronic condition, your remaining QALE is reduced due to illness.
Led by the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety (CMUS) within the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), the research team evaluated Australian sex- and education-specific quality of life data within the Household, Labour and Income in Australia (HILDA) Survey among the Australian population aged 25 years and above. Mortality was assessed using National level data within the Person level integrated dataset (PLIDA).
Senior author, Health Economist and Head of the Health Economics and Policy Evaluation Research (HEPER) group at CMUS, Professor Zanfina Ademi, said policies focused on reducing disparities in health outcomes are increasing globally and nationally; however, looking broadly at socioeconomic inequalities in health based on the area in which you live may lack precision.
"In this study we've honed in on education status to gain a deeper understanding, at the individual level, of how education attainment impacts both the quantity (mortality) and the quality of life gained in Australia," Professor Ademi said.
"What we uncovered is significant inequalities in life expectancy and QALE among Australians depending on education attainment, which is concerning. Monitoring inequalities related to educational attainment is essential to inform policy for health equity; so it's our hope this national snapshot of education-related health inequality can help measure progress and support intersectoral policy discussion."
The study found at age 25 years, males with high education are estimated to have 11.1 years greater QALE than those with low education, while females aged 25 years with a high level of education would experience an additional 7.6 years of QALE compared with those with low education, a 26 per cent relative difference in QALE.
First author and CMUS PhD candidate, Sheridan Rodda, said socioeconomic inequalities in health are well documented in Australia, but estimates for QALE by level of education are lacking.
"Large disparities in QALE by educational attainment exist in Australia. These findings can inform policies aimed at reducing health inequity by guiding resource allocation and supporting future equity-informative economic evaluations," Ms Rodda said.
Equity-informative health technology assessments are still in their early stages. However, this study represents a crucial step in advancing this approach. This study follows a recently published first-of-its-kind paper by the same research team which looked at how age and sex impact life expectancy and QALE based on socioeconomic status and location.
This study was a collaborative effort between Monash University (Professor Zanfina Ademi, Sheridan Rodda, Dr. Melanie Lloyd and Dr Jedidiah Morton), and researchers at the Australian National University, Canberra, (Professor Rosemary Korda and Dr Jennfer Welsh).
The full study titled Inequalities in Quality‑Adjusted Life Expectancy in Australia by Educational Attainment can be found here. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-025-01517-9
