While local education and health officials are proud of residents' educational level and their relative good health, a private foundation study says Utahns would be healthier if they were better educated and that even well-educated people could be healthier.

The study released this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said Utah ranks 14th among states based on the overall rate of 40.4 percent of adults who reported being in "less than very good health."

The report said the health status of adults "in every education and racial or ethnic group did not meet the national benchmark," of having less than 19 percent of adults reporting they are in "less than very good health."

It shows 66 percent of Utah adults report having at least some college education and ties that to a death rate of 288 per 100,000 residents.

If an additional 5 percent of residents had at least some college education, the study estimates the death rate would drop to 275 per 100,000, and would continue to drop as the rate of education rose.

The theory held nationwide, as well as across four Utah counties surveyed (see accompanying chart). Counties with higher rates of education showed lower rates of deaths per 100,000 than those with lower rates of education.

Utah County stood out for its low rate of deaths — 24 fewer per 100,000 — compared to Davis County, which had the same rate of educational attainment among adults. No explanation was provided by the foundation for those kinds of discrepancies.

The data were gathered from the U.S. Census and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and compiled in a report by the foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America.

Researchers told reporters during a teleconference that they didn't examine specific factors about why the correlation is so strong, but in their survey, the health of those less educated is markedly worse than for those who are better educated all across the country.

"People with more education tend to live longer than those who don't have it," according to a statement by Dennis Rivera, who chairs SEIU Healthcare, a union of more than 1 million health-care workers.

"On average, college graduates can expect to live five years longer than those who have not finished high school, and they not only live longer but healthier lives."

Those who have fewer advantages beginning in childhood, such as health insurance, access to healthy food and safe housing, "are facing a lifetime of poor health, limited opportunities and lost potential," Rivera said.

The study found that "once a child is on this track, the curve doesn't bend but continues."

People with better education are more likely to have jobs with health insurance coverage, be more knowledgeable about health and have more discretionary time to focus on healthy activities, he said.

Health-care reform alone won't improve the health of most Americans, he said, adding that "building a healthier nation requires a broader view of health — where and how people live, work and play.

"For the first time in history, America is raising a generation of children who may live shorter, sicker lives than their parents." He said health care and education officials must work together to help ensure that today's children "have the ability to earn a good living and raise and support healthy families."

E-MAIL: carrie@desnews.com