Author: Der, Geoff¹

Source: British Journal of Health Psychology, Volume 12, Number 3, September 2007 , pp. 315-321(7)

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• In this Subject: Medicine (General) ,  Psychology
• By this author: Der, Geoff

Abstract:

Cognitive epidemiology aims to explain health differentials in terms of cognitive functions, including intelligence. Kanazawa has proposed extending this to the explanation of health differences between nations. He concludes that `wealthier and more egalitarian societies live longer and stay healthier … because they are more intelligent'. The result does not apply to sub-Saharan Africa, but this exception is explained by reference to his theory of evolutionary psychology, `The Savanna Principle'. We reanalyse the data, taking into account non-linearity in the relationship of GDP to life expectancy and find that the results no longer support his conclusions. We also argue that HIV prevalence rates are a more parsimonious explanation for differences between sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/135910707X212381

Affiliations: 1: MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, UK

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