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Cited by 372Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyIntergenerational and Educational Inequality StudiesHealth disparities and outcomes

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Height, body mass index, and socioeconomic status: mendelian randomisation study in UK Biobank

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Tyrrell, Jessica, Jones, Samuel E, Beaumont, Robin, Astley, Christina M, Lovell, Rebecca, Yaghootkar, Hanieh, Tuke, Marcus, Ruth, Katherine S, Freathy, Rachel M, Hirschhorn, Joel N, Wood, Andrew R, Murray, Anna, Weedon, Michael N, Frayling, Timothy M·2016·BMJ
DOI 10.1136/bmj.i582PMC PMC4783516
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether height and body mass index (BMI) have a causal role in five measures of socioeconomic status. DESIGN: Mendelian randomisation study to test for causal effects of differences in stature and BMI on five measures of socioeconomic status. Mendelian randomisation exploits the fact that genotypes are randomly assigned at conception and thus not confounded by non-genetic factors. SETTING: UK Biobank. PARTICIPANTS: 119,669 men and women of British ancestry, aged between 37 and 73 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age completed full time education, degree level education, job class, annual household income, and Townsend deprivation index. RESULTS: In the UK Biobank study, shorter stature and higher BMI were observationally associated with several measures of lower socioeconomic status. The associations between shorter stature and lower socioeconomic status tended to be stronger in men, and the associations between higher BMI and lower socioeconomic status tended to be stronger in women. For example, a 1 standard deviation (SD) higher BMI was associated with a £210 (€276; $300; 95% confidence interval £84 to £420; P=6 × 10(-3)) lower annual household income in men and a £1890 (£1680 to £2100; P=6 × 10(-15)) lower annual household income in women. Genetic analysis provided evidence that these associations were partly causal. A genetically determined 1 SD (6.3 cm) taller stature caused a 0.06 (0.02 to 0.09) year older age of completing full time education (P=0.01), a 1.12 (1.07 to 1.18) times higher odds of working in a skilled profession (P=6 × 10(-7)), and a £1130 (£680 to £1580) higher annual household income (P=4 × 10(-8)). Associations were stronger in men. A genetically determined 1 SD higher BMI (4.6 kg/m(2)) caused a £2940 (£1680 to £4200; P=1 × 10(-5)) lower annual household income and a 0.10 (0.04 to 0.16) SD (P=0.001) higher level of deprivation in women only. CONCLUSIONS: These data support evidence that height and BMI play an important partial role in determining several aspects of a person's socioeconomic status, especially women's BMI for income and deprivation and men's height for education, income, and job class. These findings have important social and health implications, supporting evidence that overweight people, especially women, are at a disadvantage and that taller people, especially men, are at an advantage.

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  • A UK study of 119,669 individuals aged 37-73 years found a strong association between higher BMI and lower socioeconomic status, especially in women.

    “A UK study of 119,669 individuals aged 37−73 years found a strong association between higher BMI and lower socioeconomic status, especially in women63.”

    From Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity (2020) · cites this paper as [63]

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Metadata

Authors
Tyrrell, J., Jones, S. E., Beaumont, R., Astley, C. M., Lovell, R., Yaghootkar, H., Tuke, M., Ruth, K. S., Freathy, R. M., Hirschhorn, J. N., Wood, A. R., Murray, A., Weedon, M. N., & Frayling, T. M.
Affiliations
  • University of Exeter (GB)
  • Broad Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Frayling, Timothy M
ORCID
Venue
BMJ
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2016-03-08
Volume
352
Pages
i582
ISSN
1756-1833 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1136/bmj.i582
PMC
PMC4783516
OpenAlex
W2296421590
Cited by
372
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 9
FWCI
20.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMJ (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
  • Royal Devon and Exeter Research Repository (Royal Devon and Exeter) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (104150/Z/14/Z, WT097835MF)
  • Medical Research Council (MR/M005070/1)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK075787, T32DK007699)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
height, body mass index, socioeconomic status, causal effects, household income, educational attainment, job classes, Townsend deprivation index, sex differences, genetic factors, obesity, socioeconomic disparities, UK Biobank, Mendelian randomization
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Body Height, Educational Status, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Income, Male, Middle Aged, Occupations, Social Class, Body Mass Index, Biological Specimen Banks, Mendelian Randomization Analysis

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