An assessment of biological age of males in Poland.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Studies carried out in Poland have shown that some important indices of growth and maturation in children, of the biological well-being during adulthood and the rates of premature mortality depend strongly upon the individual's position on the social scale. AIM: The study considers whether adult males of higher educational status differ from their chronological age-matches of lower educational status in biological age. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The data of 2800 occupationally active men, aged 25-65 from the 1994/1995 Polish Health Surveys were used. Twenty-two different measures were used. Biological age was assessed by the method of Borkan and Norris (Journal of Gerontology, 35, 177-184, 1980). RESULTS: A comparison of biological age profiles of two groups of males based on their educational status showed that in 13 of the 22 characteristics. better-educated men were biologically younger than their poorer educated peers (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Better education is associated with the slowing down of the process of ageing, probably because it produces a healthier life-style.