Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38987359›Full record

ArticleNature human behaviour2024

Investigating the impact of poverty on mental illness in the UK Biobank using Mendelian randomization.

Mattia Marchi, Anne Alkema, Charley Xia, Chris H L Thio, Li-Yu Chen, Winni Schalkwijk, Gian M Galeazzi, Silvia Ferrari, Luca Pingani, Hyeokmoon Kweon and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature human behaviour, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. Psychiatric morbidity and gambling disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based surveys.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Mattia MarchiDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2970-1276
Anne AlkemaDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Charley XiaLothian Birth Cohort Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8194-9351
Chris H L ThioDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2623-7172
Li-Yu ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Winni SchalkwijkDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-6627-6681
Gian M GaleazziDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. GianMaria.Galeazzi@ausl.re.it.
Silvia FerrariDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Luca PinganiDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Hyeokmoon KweonDepartment of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3649-0457
Sara Evans-LackoCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4691-2630
W David HillLothian Birth Cohort Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7205-1606
Marco P BoksDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. m.p.m.boks@umcutrecht.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-7484

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/T030852/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is unclear whether poverty and mental illness are causally related. Using UK Biobank and Psychiatric Genomic Consortium data, we examined evidence of causal links between poverty and nine mental illnesses (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anorexia nervosa, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia). We applied genomic structural equation modelling to derive a poverty common factor from household income, occupational income and social deprivation. Then, using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that schizophrenia and ADHD causally contribute to poverty, while poverty contributes to major depressive disorder and schizophrenia but decreases the risk of anorexia nervosa. Poverty may also contribute to ADHD, albeit with uncertainty due to unbalanced pleiotropy. The effects of poverty were reduced by approximately 30% when we adjusted for cognitive ability. Further investigations of the bidirectional relationships between poverty and mental illness are warranted, as they may inform efforts to improve mental health for all.

Indexed as

Biological Specimen BanksMendelian Randomization AnalysisMental DisordersPovertyAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityFemaleHumansMaleSchizophreniaUK BiobankUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID38987359
PMCPMC11420075

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.