The effect of BMI and type 2 diabetes on socioeconomic status: a two-sample multivariable Mendelian randomization study
To assess the independent causal effect of BMI and type 2 diabetes (T2D) on socioeconomic outcomes applying two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We carried out univariate and multivariate two-sample MR to jointly assess the effect BMI and T2D on socioeconomic outcomes. We used overlapping genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for BMI and T2D as instrumental variables. Their causal impact on household income and regional deprivation was assessed using summary-level data from the UK Biobank.
RESULTS
In the univariate analysis, higher BMI was related with lower income (marginal effect of 1-SD increase in BMI [β=-0.092 (95% CI: -0.138; -0.047)] and higher deprivation [β=0.051 (95% CI: 0.022; 0.079)]. In the multivariate MR, the effect of BMI controlling for diabetes was slightly lower for income and deprivation. Diabetes was not associated with these outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
High BMI, but not diabetes, shows a causal link with socioeconomic outcomes.
