Scientists search for the connection between intelligence and health

Researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria, analyzed a 13-year longitudinal study to determine why those with a high IQ are consistently found to be in good health. After analyzing the cognitive, physical, environmental, and behavioral data collected from approximately 10,000 participants, there is no clear behavioral or environmental reasons for the correlation. Instead, the results indicate that a third factor may be at work influencing both intelligence and health.

The study was published in the journal Intelligence.

Research consistently finds a positive correlation between health and intelligence. The higher the IQ, the better the health, but the mechanisms responsible for this relationship have yet to be discovered. Proposed causes include better access to health care, better health choices, access to safe work environments, stress management, and genetics. Unfortunately, these have yet to prove to be the key to why these two factors are related.

Fries and Pietschnig had this to say about their findings: “These results suggest that the intelligence-health association cannot be sufficiently explained by environmental and behavioral risk factors. Thus a different mechanism is required to understand the relationship.” Some propose genetics as that mechanism. If this is the case, Fries and Pietschnig encourage future research to consider that the same genes may affect health and IQ.

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