The Sword and Laser discussion
Reading may help you live longer
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I hope one of the first things the headline writer of that article reads is on the difference between correlation and causation.
Yeah, I thought the same thing when I read that article. COULD IT BE... that perhaps poor people, who are also often poor in health, and who often might work two low-paying jobs, might perhaps have less time to read? Just one plausible scenario I thought up right now. Could be though.
"Also, it must be acknowledged, as CBS does in a report on this new study, that book readers may simply live longer anyway, since they’re usually healthier, wealthier, and better educated".From the paper:
Highlights
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Book reading provides a survival advantage among the elderly (HR = 0.80, p < 0.0001).
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Books are more advantageous for survival than newspapers/magazines.
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The survival advantage of reading books works through a cognitive mediator.
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Books are protective regardless of gender, wealth, education, or health.
"On average, book readers had a “20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers.” Crunching the numbers even further, we find those in the highest reading group (more than 3.5 hours/week) were “23 percent less likely to die in the next 12 years,” while those semi-dorks who managed to crack a book for at least half an hour a day experienced “mortality rates reduced by 17 percent."