IQ is the strongest predictor of the heart diseases, after smoking. This has been reported by the Britain’s Medical Search Council. People with the lower intelligence scores- as reflected by the low results on written or oral tests of IQ- had higher rates of heart diseases and death than all other risk factors except smoking, it was found. The study revealed risk factors which include obesity and high cholesterol, were not part of the top five risk factors. The top five risk factors include smoking, low IQ, low income, high systolic and low physical activity.
The data about 1,145 men and women was collected who aged around 55. Data was collected for height, weight, blood pressure, smoking, habits’ , physical activity, education and occupation, while IQ was assessed using a standard test of general intelligence. IQ is not inherited and it often indicates inequalities in social status, education and experience. People with lower IQ are more likely to be less educated. It underlines the need to fast track the health literacy, not only in urban areas but also in rural areas.
