ArticleeLife2022
Body mass index and childhood symptoms of depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A within-family Mendelian randomization study.
Article in eLife, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Methodological approaches, challenges, and opportunities in the application of Mendelian randomisation to lifecourse epidemiology: A systematic literature review.European journal of epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Genetic investigation of the association between maternal dietary patterns and offspring ADHD.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- The reporting and handling of missing data in genetic epidemiological studies of mental health in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Genetic clusters of BMI reveal symptom-specific causal effects on depression.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Shared genetic architecture between obesity and psychiatric disorders reveals comorbid etiology and therapeutic targets.Life medicine · 2026Article
- Adiposity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbidity in Chinese children and adolescents: the role of adiposity duration and screen time.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Leveraging transdiagnostic genetic liability to psychiatric disorders to dissect clinical outcomes of anorexia nervosa.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Impact of Nutrition, Genetics, Environment, and Common Issues on Adolescent Growth and Development.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Body mass index and workplace bullying: exploring causality in two general population Norwegian surveys, the HUNT study and the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).BMJ public health · 2026Article
- A Causal Inference Study of Circulating Metabolites Mediating the Effect of Obesity-Related Indicators on the Incidence of Anxiety Disorders.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- The Impact of Parental Behaviors on Children's Lifestyle, Dietary Habits, Screen Time, Sleep Patterns, Mental Health, and BMI: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Investigating the causal effects of childhood and adulthood adiposity on later life mental health outcome: a Mendelian randomization study.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Advances in Mendelian Randomization Studies of Obesity Over the Past Decade: Uncovering Key Genetic Mechanisms.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2025Review
- Mendelian randomization studies of depression: evidence, opportunities, and challenges.Annals of general psychiatry · 2023Review
- Mood instability and low back pain: a mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Higher BMI in childhood is associated with emotional and behavioural problems, but these associations may not be causal. Results of previous genetic studies imply causal effects but may reflect influence of demography and the family environment. Methods: This study used data on 40,949 8-year-old children and their parents from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN). We investigated the impact of BMI on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 8. We applied within-family Mendelian randomization, which accounts for familial effects by controlling for parental genotype. Results: Within-family Mendelian randomization estimates using genetic variants associated with BMI in adults suggested that a child's own BMI increased their depressive symptoms (per 5 kg/m Conclusions: We found inconsistent evidence that a child's BMI affected their depressive and ADHD symptoms, and little evidence that a child's BMI affected their anxiety symptoms. There was limited evidence of an influence of parents' BMI. Genetic studies in samples of unrelated individuals, or using genetic variants associated with adult BMI, may have overestimated the causal effects of a child's own BMI. Funding: This research was funded by the Health Foundation. It is part of the HARVEST collaboration, supported by the Research Council of Norway. Individual co-author funding: the European Research Council, the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, the Research Council of Norway, Helse Vest, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the University of Bergen, the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, the Trond Mohn Foundation, the Western Norway Regional Health Authority, the Norwegian Diabetes Association, the UK Medical Research Council. The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Bristol support the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit.
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