Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study

Saskia P Hagenaars, Catharine R Gale, Ian J Deary, Sarah E Harris
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/084798
Saskia P Hagenaars
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
2Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
3Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Catharine R Gale
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
2Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
4MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ian J Deary
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
2Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sarah E Harris
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
5Medical Genetics Section, University of Edinburgh Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine and MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background Causes of the association between lower cognitive ability and poorer health remain unknown, but may reflect a shared genetic aetiology as indicated by previous research. This study examines the causal genetic associations between cognitive ability and physical health outcomes.

Method We carried out Mendelian randomization analyses using the inverse variance weighted method to test for causality between later life cognitive ability, educational attainment (as a proxy for cognitive ability in youth), BMI, height, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes in the UK Biobank sample (N = 112 151). Sensitivity analyses were performed using MR-Egger regression.

Results BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes showed negative associations with cognitive ability, while height was positively associated with cognitive ability. The Mendelian randomization analyses provided no evidence for a casual association from health to cognitive ability. In the other direction, higher educational attainment predicted lower BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and taller stature. The Mendelian randomization analyses indicated partly causal associations from educational attainment to health, however when adjusting for bias using the MR-Egger regression, these effects disappeared.

Conclusions The lack of consistent evidence for causal associations between cognitive ability, educational attainment, and physical health could be explained by violations of the Mendelian randomization assumptions, including biological pleiotropy.

Key messages

  • Cognitive ability and physical health outcomes are positively associated.

  • Mendelian randomization analyses indicated that educational attainment influenced physical health outcomes.

  • Sensitivity analyses, using MR-Egger regression, indicated that these associations were biased due to violations of the Mendelian randomization assumptions.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted November 01, 2016.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study
Saskia P Hagenaars, Catharine R Gale, Ian J Deary, Sarah E Harris
bioRxiv 084798; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/084798
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study
Saskia P Hagenaars, Catharine R Gale, Ian J Deary, Sarah E Harris
bioRxiv 084798; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/084798

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Genetics
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4246)
  • Biochemistry (9184)
  • Bioengineering (6808)
  • Bioinformatics (24072)
  • Biophysics (12167)
  • Cancer Biology (9570)
  • Cell Biology (13847)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7666)
  • Ecology (11742)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15548)
  • Genetics (10676)
  • Genomics (14372)
  • Immunology (9523)
  • Microbiology (22923)
  • Molecular Biology (9140)
  • Neuroscience (49175)
  • Paleontology (358)
  • Pathology (1488)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2584)
  • Physiology (3851)
  • Plant Biology (8356)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1473)
  • Synthetic Biology (2302)
  • Systems Biology (6207)
  • Zoology (1304)