Abstract
Nontraditional education trajectories are common, but their influence on physical health is understudied. We constructed year-by-year education trajectories for 7,501 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 participants aged 14 to 48 years (262,535 person-years of education data from 1979 to 2014). We characterized trajectory similarity using sequence analysis and used hierarchical clustering to group similar educational trajectories. Using linear regression, we predicted physical health summary scores of the participants at age 50 years from the 12-item Short-Form Survey, adjusting for available confounders, and evaluated effect modification by sex, race/ethnicity, and childhood socioeconomic status. We identified 24 unique educational sequence clusters on the basis of highest level of schooling and attendance timing. General education development credentials predicted poorer health than did high school diplomas (β = -3.07, 95% confidence interval: -4.07, -2.07), and bachelor's degrees attained at earlier ages predicted better health than the same degree attained at later ages (β = 1.66, 95% confidence interval: 0.05, 3.28). Structurally marginalized groups benefited more from some educational trajectories than did advantaged groups (e.g., Black vs. White Americans with some college; those of low vs. high childhood socioeconomic status who received an associate's or bachelor's degree). Both type and timing of educational credentials may influence physical health. Literature to date has likely underestimated the impact of educational trajectories on health.