Highly-Educated People Are More Prone to Brain Tumors, Study Says

People who've had higher education are more likely to develop certain types of brain tumors, a new study suggested.

Researchers found that glioma, a type of cancerous brain tumor, is 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed in women who completed at least three years of university courses compared with women who did not go to university.

Men who studied for at least three years in university are 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the same type of tumor compared with men who did not have university education.

"One possible explanation is that highly educated people may be more aware of symptoms and seek medical care earlier and are therefore more likely to be diagnosed," Amal Khanolkar, research associate at the Institute of Child Health at the University College London and co-author of the study, said in a report published on Live Science.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, looked at 4.3 million people in Sweden born between 1911 and 1961. Researchers followed the subjects from 1993 to 2010 and were observed for possible brain tumor development.

According to results, 7,101 women and 5,735 men from the sample developed brain tumors.

Apart from the association between brain tumor development and educational level, researchers also found that men who had higher incomes were 14 percent more likely to develop glioma, compared with men who have lower incomes.

Moreover, the study found that men who worked in managerial and professional roles were 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with glioma and 50 percent more likely to develop acoustic neuroma - a type of noncancerous brain tumor associated with hearing and balance - compared with men who worked manual jobs.

Women handling managerial and professional roles were 26 percent more likely to be diagnosed with a brain tumor than those with manual jobs.

Researchers also found that women who completed three years of university courses are 16 percent more likely to develop meningioma, another noncancerous brain tumor, compared with women who did not pursue higher education.

According to the researchers, the study findings are in line with a previous study, which established a link between increased risk of certain brain tumors and higher socio-economic status.