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 O. 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 M. Verweij; Emily A. Willoughby; Esben Agerbo; Sven Bergmann; Dorret I. Boomsma; Anders D. Børglum; Ben M. Brumpton; Neil Martin 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 C. Smart; Harold Snieder; Peter J. van der Most; Peter Vollenweider; Henry Völzke; Gonneke Willemsen; Jonathan P. Beauchamp; Thomas A. DiPrete; Richard Karlsson Linnér; Qiongshi Lu; Tim T. Morris; Aysu Okbay; K. Paige Harden; Abdel Abdellaoui; W. David Hill; Ronald de Vlaming; Daniel J. Benjamin; Philipp D. Koellinger

doi:10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7

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 O. 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 PalviainenCornelius A. Rietveld, Alexander Teumer, Renske M. Verweij, Emily A. Willoughby, Esben Agerbo, Sven Bergmann, Dorret I. Boomsma, Anders D. Børglum, Ben M. Brumpton, Neil Martin 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 C. Smart, Harold Snieder, Peter J. van der Most, Peter Vollenweider, Henry Völzke, Gonneke Willemsen, Jonathan P. Beauchamp, Thomas A. DiPrete, Richard Karlsson Linnér, Qiongshi Lu, Tim T. Morris, Aysu Okbay, K. Paige Harden, Abdel Abdellaoui^*, W. David Hill^*, Ronald de Vlaming, Daniel J. Benjamin, Philipp D. Koellinger^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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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.

Original language	English
Article number	12681
Pages (from-to)	794-805
Number of pages	12
Journal	Nature Human Behaviour
Volume	9
Issue number	4
Early online date	28 Jan 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2025

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Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

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Kweon, H., Burik, C. A. P., Ning, Y., Ahlskog, R., Xia, C., Abner, E., Bao, Y., Bhatta, L., Faquih, T. O., de Feijter, M., Fisher, P., Gelemanović, A., Giannelis, A., Hottenga, J.-J., Khalili, B., Lee, Y., Li-Gao, R., Masso, J., Myhre, R., ... Koellinger, P. D. (2025). Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient. Nature Human Behaviour, 9(4), 794-805. Article 12681. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7

@article{640679bc69b84e4b814581aaba727977,

title = "Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient",

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.",

author = "Hyeokmoon Kweon and Burik, \{Casper A. P.\} and Yuchen Ning and Rafael Ahlskog and Charley Xia and Erik Abner and Yanchun Bao and Laxmi Bhatta and Faquih, \{Tariq O.\} and \{de Feijter\}, Maud and Paul Fisher and Andrea Gelemanovi{\'c} and Alexandros Giannelis and Jouke-Jan Hottenga and Bita Khalili and Yunsung Lee and Ruifang Li-Gao and Jaan Masso and Ronny Myhre and Teemu Palviainen and Rietveld, \{Cornelius A.\} and Alexander Teumer and Verweij, \{Renske M.\} and Willoughby, \{Emily A.\} and Esben Agerbo and Sven Bergmann and Boomsma, \{Dorret I.\} and B{\o}rglum, \{Anders D.\} and Brumpton, \{Ben M.\} and Davies, \{Neil Martin\} and T{\~o}nu Esko and Gordon, \{Scott D.\} and Georg Homuth and Ikram, \{M. Arfan\} and Magnus Johannesson and Jaakko Kaprio and Kidd, \{Michael P.\} and Zolt{\'a}n Kutalik and Kwong, \{Alex S. F.\} and Lee, \{James J.\} and Luik, \{Annemarie I.\} and Per Magnus and Pedro Marques-Vidal and Martin, \{Nicholas G.\} and Mook-Kanamori, \{Dennis O.\} and Mortensen, \{Preben Bo\} and Sven Oskarsson and Pedersen, \{Emil M.\} and Ozren Pola{\v s}ek and Rosendaal, \{Frits R.\} and Smart, \{Melissa C.\} and Harold Snieder and \{van der Most\}, \{Peter J.\} and Peter Vollenweider and Henry V{\"o}lzke and Gonneke Willemsen and Beauchamp, \{Jonathan P.\} and DiPrete, \{Thomas A.\} and Linn{\'e}r, \{Richard Karlsson\} and Qiongshi Lu and Morris, \{Tim T.\} and Aysu Okbay and Harden, \{K. Paige\} and Abdel Abdellaoui and Hill, \{W. David\} and \{de Vlaming\}, Ronald and Benjamin, \{Daniel J.\} and Koellinger, \{Philipp D.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "794--805",

journal = "Nature Human Behaviour",

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Kweon, H, Burik, CAP, Ning, Y, Ahlskog, R, Xia, C, Abner, E, Bao, Y, Bhatta, L, Faquih, TO, de Feijter, M, Fisher, P, Gelemanović, A, Giannelis, A, Hottenga, J-J, Khalili, B, Lee, Y, Li-Gao, R, Masso, J, Myhre, R, Palviainen, T, Rietveld, CA, Teumer, A, Verweij, RM, Willoughby, EA, Agerbo, E, Bergmann, S, Boomsma, DI, Børglum, AD, Brumpton, BM, Davies, NM, Esko, T, Gordon, SD, Homuth, G, Ikram, MA, Johannesson, M, Kaprio, J, Kidd, MP, Kutalik, Z, Kwong, ASF, Lee, JJ, Luik, AI, Magnus, P, Marques-Vidal, P, Martin, NG, Mook-Kanamori, DO, Mortensen, PB, Oskarsson, S, Pedersen, EM, Polašek, O, Rosendaal, FR, Smart, MC, Snieder, H, van der Most, PJ, Vollenweider, P, Völzke, H, Willemsen, G, Beauchamp, JP, DiPrete, TA, Linnér, RK, Lu, Q, Morris, TT, Okbay, A, Harden, KP, Abdellaoui, A, Hill, WD, de Vlaming, R, Benjamin, DJ & Koellinger, PD 2025, 'Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient', Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 9, no. 4, 12681, pp. 794-805. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient

AU - Kweon, Hyeokmoon

AU - Burik, Casper A. P.

AU - Ning, Yuchen

AU - Ahlskog, Rafael

AU - Xia, Charley

AU - Abner, Erik

AU - Bao, Yanchun

AU - Bhatta, Laxmi

AU - Faquih, Tariq O.

AU - de Feijter, Maud

AU - Fisher, Paul

AU - Gelemanović, Andrea

AU - Giannelis, Alexandros

AU - Hottenga, Jouke-Jan

AU - Khalili, Bita

AU - Lee, Yunsung

AU - Li-Gao, Ruifang

AU - Masso, Jaan

AU - Myhre, Ronny

AU - Palviainen, Teemu

AU - Rietveld, Cornelius A.

AU - Teumer, Alexander

AU - Verweij, Renske M.

AU - Willoughby, Emily A.

AU - Agerbo, Esben

AU - Bergmann, Sven

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

AU - Børglum, Anders D.

AU - Brumpton, Ben M.

AU - Davies, Neil Martin

AU - Esko, Tõnu

AU - Gordon, Scott D.

AU - Homuth, Georg

AU - Ikram, M. Arfan

AU - Johannesson, Magnus

AU - Kaprio, Jaakko

AU - Kidd, Michael P.

AU - Kutalik, Zoltán

AU - Kwong, Alex S. F.

AU - Lee, James J.

AU - Luik, Annemarie I.

AU - Magnus, Per

AU - Marques-Vidal, Pedro

AU - Martin, Nicholas G.

AU - Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O.

AU - Mortensen, Preben Bo

AU - Oskarsson, Sven

AU - Pedersen, Emil M.

AU - Polašek, Ozren

AU - Rosendaal, Frits R.

AU - Smart, Melissa C.

AU - Snieder, Harold

AU - van der Most, Peter J.

AU - Vollenweider, Peter

AU - Völzke, Henry

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

AU - Beauchamp, Jonathan P.

AU - DiPrete, Thomas A.

AU - Linnér, Richard Karlsson

AU - Lu, Qiongshi

AU - Morris, Tim T.

AU - Okbay, Aysu

AU - Harden, K. Paige

AU - Abdellaoui, Abdel

AU - Hill, W. David

AU - de Vlaming, Ronald

AU - Benjamin, Daniel J.

AU - Koellinger, Philipp D.

PY - 2025/4/1

Y1 - 2025/4/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

U2 - 10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7

DO - 10.1038/s41562-024-02080-7

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

C2 - 39875632

SN - 2397-3374

VL - 9

SP - 794

EP - 805

JO - Nature Human Behaviour

JF - Nature Human Behaviour

IS - 4

M1 - 12681

ER -

Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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