Virginians who don’t attend, or complete, high school are more likely to die of heart disease, cancer and a dozen other leading causes of death than those who earn a diploma.

The state looked at the 14 leading causes of death in Virginia and found across the board people with the least education had the highest death rates. Virginians who obtain education beyond high school have the lowest death rates.

“Lower educational attainment is correlated with higher rates of mortality across every one of the major causes of death in Virginia, and with total mortality,” according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Health Equity Report.

The findings included that people who did not attend school past eighth grade were significantly more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, the flu, and lung diseases such as asthma and emphysema than were Virginians who had more than 12 years of education.

Virginians with the least educational attainment have an overall death rate that is:

• 2.7 times higher than Virginians with more than 12 years of education
• 1.3 times higher than Virginians with 12 years of education
• 1.2 times higher than Virginians between 9 years to 11 years of education