Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40360725›Full record

ArticleMolecular psychiatry2025

Deciphering the influence of socioeconomic status on brain structure: insights from Mendelian randomization.

Charley Xia, Yuechen Lu, Zhuzhuoyu Zhou, Mattia Marchi, Hyeokmoon Kweon, Yuchen Ning, David C M Liewald, Emma L Anderson, Philipp D Koellinger, Simon R Cox and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

12 authors.

Charley XiaLothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8194-9351
Yuechen Lu *Lothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Zhuzhuoyu Zhou *Lothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Mattia MarchiDepartment of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2970-1276
Hyeokmoon KweonDepartment of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Yuchen NingDepartment of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
David C M LiewaldLothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0544-7368
Emma L AndersonMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1508-0598
Philipp D KoellingerDepartment of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Simon R CoxLothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-3642
Marco P BoksAmsterdam UMC, Department of psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-7484
W David HillLothian Birth Cohort studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. David.Hill@ed.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7205-1606

Funding

RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/T030852/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences physical and mental health, however its relation with brain structure is less well documented. Here, we examine the role of SES on brain structure using Mendelian randomisation. First, we conduct a multivariate genome-wide association study of SES using educational attainment, household income, occupational prestige, and area-based social deprivation, with an effective sample size of N = 947,466. We identify 554 loci associated with SES and distil these loci into those that are common across those four traits. Second, using an independent sample of ~35,000 we provide evidence to suggest that SES is protective against white matter hyperintensities as a proportion of intracranial volume (WMHicv). Third, we find that differences in SES still afford a protective effect against WMHicv, independent of that made by cognitive ability. Our results suggest that SES is a modifiable risk factor, causal in the maintenance of cognitive ability in older-age.

Indexed as

BrainSocial ClassAgedCognitionEducational StatusFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotideRisk FactorsWhite Matter

Identifiers

PMID40360725
PMCPMC12436186

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Registered trials

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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.