All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:

Health as an asset: estimating the causal effects of health conditions and health behaviours on social and economic outcomes using Mendelian randomization

Dr Laura Howe, MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol

Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.

Abstract

A vast body of literature describes the social determinants of health, identifying stark inequalities in many health conditions and health related behaviours. But relationships between health and social factors (such as socioeconomic position, social contact, and wellbeing) are potentially bidirectional; poor health may limit a person’s ability to achieve their full potential in education, employment or in their social life. Studying the social and socioeconomic consequences of health is fraught with difficulties due to the strong potential for confounding and reverse causation. In this talk, I will describe the use of Mendelian randomization to enhance causal inference in this topic, describing findings from UK Biobank and ALSPAC.

About Dr Howe

Laura Howe is a Reader in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics at the University of Bristol. Her two main interests are: i) the life course epidemiology of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and ii) the complex and bidirectional relationships between social factors (socioeconomic disadvantage, adverse childhood experiences) and health. Laura’s research uses statistical techniques for repeated measures data, and methods for the integration of genetic data into epidemiological studies.

Twitter:

@laurahowe_epi

@mrc_ieu

Explore past seminars

All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/

Sign up for future seminars

To sign up for future seminars and/or other alerts please visit www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/subscribe/