Alessandra Macciotta ,1,2 Carlotta Sacerdote,3 Claudia Giachino,1 Chiara Di Girolamo,1 Matteo Franco,1 Yvonne T van der Schouw,4 Raul Zamora-Ros,5 Elisabete Weiderpass,6 Cloé Domenighetti,7 Alexis Elbaz ,7 Thérèse Truong,7 Claudia Agnoli,8 Benedetta Bendinelli,9 Salvatore Panico,10 Paolo Vineis ,11 Sofia Christakoudi,11,12 Matthias B Schulze,13,14,15 Verena Katzke,16 Rashmita Bajracharya,16 Christina C Dahm,17 Susanne Oksbjerg Dalton,18,19 Sandra M Colorado-Yohar,20,21,22 Conchi Moreno-Iribas,23 Pilar Amiano Etxezarreta,21,24,25 María José Sanchez,21,26,27 Nita G Forouhi,28 Nicholas Wareham,28 Fulvio Ricceri 1.
Additional supplemental material is published online only. To view, please visit the journal online (https://doi.org/ 10.1136/jech-2024-222734). For numbered affiliations see end of article.
Correspondence to
Professor Carlotta Sacerdote; 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。 NW and FR contributed equally. Received 10 July 2024 Accepted 19 November 2024© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group
To cite: Macciotta A, Sacerdote C, Giachino C, et al. J Epidemiol Community Health Epub ahead of print:[please include Day MonthYear]. doi:10.1136/jech- 2024-222734
ABSTRACT
Introduction Observational studies have shown that more educated people are at lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, robust study designs are needed to investigate the likelihood that such a relationship is causal. This study used genetic instruments for education to estimate the effect of education on T2D using the Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach.
Methods Analyses have been conducted in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)- InterAct study (more than 20000 individuals), a case-cohort study of T2D nested in the EPIC cohort. Education was measured as Years of Education and Relative Index of Inequality. Prentice-weighted Cox models were performed to estimate the association between education and T2D. One-sample MR analyses investigated whether genetic predisposition towards longer education was associated with risk of T2D and investigated potential mediators of the
Results MR estimates indicated a risk reduction of about 15% for each year of longer education on the risk of developing T2D, confirming the protective role estimated by observational models (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.96). MR analyses on putative mediators showed a significant role of education on body mass index, alcohol consumption, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and smoking habits.
Conclusion The results supported the hypothesis that higher education is a protective factor for the risk of developing T2D. Based on its position in the causal chain, education may be antecedent of other known risk factors for T2D including unhealthy behaviours. These findings reinforce evidence obtained through observational study designs and bridge the gap between correlation and causation.
INTRODUCTION
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most concerning health issues worldwide. Recent studies1 estimated that more than 6% of the world’s population is currently affected by T2D and both its incidence and prevalence are expected to increase in the future. T2D often results in severe complications, requiring expensive and long-lasting treatments.2 Since T2D is a chronic condition, preventive measures play a key role in reducing its burden on public health. Such preventive interventions need to be based on a sound understanding of the determinants of T2D. Observational studies3 4 have identified socioeco nomic position (SEP) as an important determinant
