Researchers with the University of Edinburgh say they’ve found a link between, “Higher intelligence [or IQ] in childhood,” and, “a lower lifetime risk of major causes of death."

Researchers with the University of Edinburgh say they’ve found a link between, “Higher intelligence [or IQ] in childhood,” and, “a lower lifetime risk of major causes of death."
Those causes, according to a news release about the study, include, “heart disease, stroke, smoking related cancers, respiratory disease and dementia."
It further notes that the study is the largest, “to date reporting causes of death in men and women across the life course, and the findings suggest that lifestyle, especially tobacco smoking, is an important component in the effect of intelligence on differences in mortality.” 
The research involved an analysis of data gathered from “33,536 men and 32,229 women born in Scotland in 1936, who took a validated childhood intelligence test at age 11, and who could be linked to cause of death data up to December 2015.” 
“Causes of death included coronary heart disease, stroke, specific cancers, respiratory disease, digestive disease…dementia,” and external causes such as injury and suicide. 
Ultimately, the team determined that those with higher childhood IQs were less apt to succumb to those conditions, with the exception of cancers not related to smoking. 
The research team notes, “It remains to be seen if this is the full story or if IQ signals something deeper, and possibly genetic, in its relation to longevity."