New Heart Disease Risk Factor Discovered: Low I.Q.

February is Heart Health Month, and aside from wearing red and refusing to down an entire box of Valentine’s Day chocolates, there are many other things you can do to protect your heart. Knowing your numbers as they relate to high blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, and cholesterol is a good start. All of these are well-known and understood risk factors for heart disease. However, a new and unlikely risk factor was recently discovered in a study out of Leeds University in Britain: low intelligence.

The New York Times, reporting on the study, noted that low intelligence was a stronger predictor of heart disease than the conventional risk factors mentioned above. Only smoking was ranked higher as an indicator. The study followed 1,1,45 men and women in Scotland over a twenty year period. They recorded their I.Q., weight, education, and income level, as well as the more common risk factors of high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity. Although low physical activity doubled the risk for a heart attack, and those with high blood pressure or low income had three times the risk, the most shocking was that people with lower I.Q.s had four times the risk of developing heart disease. Smoking was the only risk factor that trumped low I.Q., at six times the risk of having heart problems.

The researchers came up with various theories as to why low I.Q. would be a predictor for heart disease. First, they theorized that a host of problems early in development may lead to a low I.Q., as well as heart problems. For instance, the researchers found that children who had poor diets, multiple illnesses and infections, also had low I.Q.s. There could be something occurring early in their lives that leads to an overall lower quality of life. Second, they surmised that people with lower I.Q.s adopt less healthful behaviors than their more intelligent counterparts. They make have trouble understanding healthy messages and the importance of having a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, they end up having poorer diets, and smoke and drink more. Finally, the researchers explained a unique and possibly controversial theory that having a higher I.Q. is associated with having more superior neurological and physiological make-ups. This means that those with high I.Q.s not only have better education and high incomes, but that all of the body’s systems are functioning exceptionally well, from the heart to the kidneys to the brain. This theory would lead us to believe that people with low I.Q.s may ultimately have decreased heart function from the beginning with no external, environmental factors influencing heart problems.

The study did not explain why a lower I.Q. resulted in more heart disease and it also did not provide what I.Q. numbers were the necessary predictors for heart health issues. More studies will definitely be needed in this area, as well as possible solutions for intervening with those who test for low intelligence early in their lives. In the meantime, continue monitoring your risk factors and know your numbers…maybe even your own I.Q. number.