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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.148353v1 99/8/1431    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Muennig, P. Articles by Neidell, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Muennig, P. Articles by Neidell, M. Related Collections Social Science Health Policy African Americans/Blacks Socioeconomic Factors Urban Health

Peter Muennig, MD, MPH, Lawrence Schweinhart, PhD, Jeanne Montie, PhD and Matthew Neidell, PhD

Peter Muennig and Matthew Neidell are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Larry Schweinhart and Jeanne Montie are with the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Ypsilanti, MI.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Peter Muennig, MD, MPH, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 600 W 168th St, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: pm124{at}columbia.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking on the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We used 37 years of follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial to explore the linkage between an early educational intervention and adult health.

Methods. We analyzed data from the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program (PPP), an early school-based intervention in which 123 children were randomized to a prekindergarten education group or a control group. In addition to exploring the effects of the program on health behavioral risk factors and health outcomes, we examined the extent to which educational attainment, income, family environment, and health insurance access mediated the relationship between randomization to PPP and behavioral and health outcomes.

Results. The PPP led to improvements in educational attainment, health insurance, income, and family environment Improvements in these domains, in turn, lead to improvements in an array of behavioral risk factors and health (P = .01). However, despite these reductions in behavioral risk factors, participants did not exhibit any overall improvement in physical health outcomes by the age of 40 years.

Conclusions. Early education reduces health behavioral risk factors by enhancing educational attainment, health insurance coverage, income, and family environments. Further follow-up will be needed to determine the long-term health effects of PPP.

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