Mendelian randomisation analysis of the effect of educational attainment and cognitive ability on smoking behaviour

Recent analyses have shown educational attainment to be associated with a number of health outcomes. This association may, in part, be due to an effect of educational attainment on smoking behaviour. In this study, we apply a multivariable Mendelian randomisation design to determine whether the effect of educational attainment on smoking behaviour is due to educational attainment or general cognitive ability. We use individual data from the UK Biobank study (N= 120,050) and summary data from large GWA studies of educational attainment, cognitive ability and smoking behaviour. Our results show that more years of education are associated with a reduced likelihood of smoking that is not due to an effect of general cognitive ability on smoking behaviour. Given the considerable physical harms associated with smoking, the effect of educational attainment on smoking is likely to contribute to the health inequalities associated with differences in educational attainment.

本文作者使用多变量MR分析的方法来确定教育程度对吸烟行为的影响是由于教育程度还是一般认知能力所致。文中使用 UKB 12万人的样本和公共数据库的GWAS烟验证这一假设。结果表明，受教育年限与吸烟可能性降低有关，这并不是由于一般认知能力对吸烟行为的影响。考虑到吸烟对身体的巨大危害，受教育程度对吸烟的影响可能会导致与受教育程度差异有关的健康不平等。

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