Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10397/93675
Title: | Education attainment, intelligence and COVID-19 : a mendelian randomization study | Authors: | Li, GHY Lam, SKK Wong, ICK Chu, JKP Cheung, CL |
Issue Date: | Nov-2021 | Source: | Journal of clinical medicine, Nov. 2021, v. 10, no. 21, 4870 | Abstract: | Background: Evidence of socioeconomic inequality in COVID-19-related outcomes is
emerging, with a higher risk of infection and mortality observed among individuals with lower
education attainment. We aimed to evaluate the potential interventions against COVID-19 from the socioeconomic perspective, including improvement in education and intelligence. Methods: With a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach using summary statistics from the largest genome-wide association meta-analysis, univariable analysis was adopted to evaluate the total causal effects of genetically determined education attainment and intelligence on COVID-19 outcomes. Multivariable analysis was performed to dissect the potential mechanisms. Results: Genetic predisposition to higher education attainment by 1 SD (4.2 years) was independently associated with reduced risk of COVID- 19 severity (OR = 0.508 [95% CI: 0.417–0.617]; p < 0.001). Genetically higher education attainment also lowered the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization (0.685 [0.593–0.791]; p < 0.001), but the association was attenuated after adjustment for beta estimates of intelligence in multivariable analysis. Genetically higher intelligence was associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 hospitalization (0.780 [0.655–0.930]; p = 0.006), with attenuation of association after adjustment for education attainment. Null association was observed for genetically determined education attainment and intelligence with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusion: Education may act independently and jointly with intelligence in improving the COVID-19 outcomes. Improving education may potentially alleviate the COVID-19-related health inequality. |
Keywords: | Education Intelligence SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 Mendelian randomization |
Publisher: | Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) | Journal: | Journal of clinical medicine | EISSN: | 2077-0383 | DOI: | 10.3390/jcm10214870 | Rights: | © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/). The following publication Li, G. H. Y., Lam, S. K. K., Wong, I. C. K., Chu, J. K. P., & Cheung, C. L. (2021). Education attainment, intelligence and Covid-19: a Mendelian randomization study. Journal of clinical medicine, 10(21), 4870 is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10214870 |
Appears in Collections: | Journal/Magazine Article |
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