High education levels may up brain tumour risk: study

A university degree may be linked to an increased risk of developing a brain tumour, according to a new study which found that gliomas were more common among people who had studied at college for at least three years.

Researchers from University College London in the UK and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden based their findings on more than 4.3 million Swedes, all of whom were born between 1911 and 1961 and living in Sweden in 1991.

They were monitored between 1993 and 2010 to see if they developed a primary brain tumour and information on educational attainment, disposable income, marital status and occupation was obtained.

During the monitoring period, 1.1 million people died and more than 48,000 emigrated. 5,735 of the men and 7,101 of the women developed a brain tumour, researchers said.
PTI