Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient
Hyeokmoon Kweon, Casper A.P. Burik, Yuchen Ning, Rafael Ahlskog, Charley Xia, Erik Abner, Yanchun Bao, Laxmi Bhatta, Tariq Faquih, Maud de Feijter, Paul Fisher, Andrea Gelemanović, Alexandros Giannelis, Jouke‐Jan Hottenga, Bita Khalili, Yunsung Lee, Ruifang Li‐Gao, Jaan Masso, Ronny Myhre, Teemu Palviainen, Cornelius A. Rietveld, Alexander Teumer, Renske Verweij, Emily A. Willoughby, Esben Agerbo, Sven Bergmann, Dorret I. Boomsma, Anders D. Børglum, Ben Brumpton, Neil M Davies, Tõnu Esko, Scott D. Gordon, Georg Homuth, M. Arfan Ikram, Magnus Johannesson, Jaakko Kaprio, Michael P. Kidd, Zoltán Kutalik, Alex S. F. Kwong, James J. Lee, Annemarie I. Luik, Per Magnus, Pedro Marques‐Vidal, Nicholas G. Martin, Dennis O. Mook‐Kanamori, Preben Bo Mortensen, Sven Oskarsson, Emil M. Pedersen, Ozren Polašek, Frits R. Rosendaal, Melissa Smart, Harold Snieder, Peter J. van der Most, Péter Vollenweider, Henry Völzke, Gonneke Willemsen, Jonathan Beauchamp, Thomas A. DiPrete, Richard Karlsson Linnér, Qiongshi Lu, Tim Morris, Aysu Okbay, K. Paige Harden, Abdel Abdellaoui, W. David Hill, Ronald de Vlaming, Daniel J. Benjamin, Philipp Koellinger
Abstract
We conducted a genome-wide association study on income among individuals of European descent (N = 668,288) to investigate the relationship between socio-economic status and health disparities. We identified 162 genomic loci associated with a common genetic factor underlying various income measures, all with small effect sizes (the Income Factor). Our polygenic index captures 1-5% of income variance, with only one fourth due to direct genetic effects. A phenome-wide association study using this index showed reduced risks for diseases including hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, asthma and back pain. The Income Factor had a substantial genetic correlation (0.92, s.e. = 0.006) with educational attainment. Accounting for the genetic overlap of educational attainment with income revealed that the remaining genetic signal was linked to better mental health but reduced physical health and increased risky behaviours such as drinking and smoking. These findings highlight the complex genetic influences on income and health.