Effect of weight on depression using multiple genetic instruments.

A striking global health development over the past few decades has been the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. At the same time, depression has become increasingly common in almost all high-income countries. We investigated whether body weight, measured by body mass index (BMI), has a causal effect on depression symptoms in Finland.

The Individual-Level Productivity Costs of Physical Inactivity.

Purpose: This study estimated the long-term individual-level productivity costs of physical inactivity.

Methods: The data were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, to which the productivity cost variables (sick leaves and disability pensions) from Finnish registries were linked. Individuals ( N = 6261) were categorized into physical activity groups based on their level of physical activity, which was measured in three ways: 1) self-reported leisure-time moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) at 46 yr old, 2) longitudinal self-reported leisure-time MVPA at 31-46 yr old, and 3) accelerometer-measured overall MVPA at 46 yr old.

Schizophrenia polygenic risk score and long-term success in the labour market: A cohort study.

Employment is rare among people with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Meanwhile, a genetic liability for schizophrenia may hinder labour market performance. We studied how the polygenic risk score (PGS) for schizophrenia related to education and labour market outcomes.

Economic burden of low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour in Finland.

Background: Low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour are unquestionably relevant for public health while also increasing direct and indirect costs.

Methods: The authors examined the direct and indirect costs attributable to low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour in Finland in 2017. Costs related to major non-communicable diseases drawn from Finnish registries covered direct costs (outpatient visits, days of inpatient care, medication and institutional eldercare) and indirect costs (sickness-related absences, disability pensions, unemployment benefits, all-cause mortality and losses of income tax revenue).

Does better education mitigate risky health behavior? A mendelian randomization study.

Education and risky health behaviors are strongly negatively correlated. Education may affect health behaviors by enabling healthier choices through higher disposable income, increasing information about the harmful effects of risky health behaviors, or altering time preferences. Alternatively, the observed negative correlation may stem from reverse causality or unobserved confounders.

Birth weight, adult weight, and cardiovascular biomarkers: Evidence from the Cardiovascular Young Finns Study.

This study quantifies the causal effect of birth weight on cardiovascular biomarkers in adulthood using the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS). We apply a multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) method that provides a novel approach to improve inference in causal analysis based on a mediation framework. The results show that birth weight is linked to triglyceride levels (β = -0.

Birth weight and adult income: An examination of mediation through adult height and body mass.

This paper examines the causal links between early human endowments and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. We use a genotyped longitudinal survey (Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study) that is linked to the administrative registers of Statistics Finland. We focus on the effect of birth weight on income via two anthropometric mediators: body mass index (BMI) and height in adulthood.

Childhood physical activity as a labor market investment.

This study examined the role of physical activity and changes in physical activity levels during childhood in long-term labor market outcomes. To address this important but under-researched theme, the study utilized data drawn from longitudinal research, the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), and from registries compiled by Statistics Finland. The study consisted of children aged 9 (n = 1565) and 15 (n = 2445) at the time their physical activity was measured.

Education leads to a more physically active lifestyle: Evidence based on Mendelian randomization.

Physical inactivity is a major health risk worldwide. Observational studies suggest that higher education is positively related to physical activity, but it is not clear whether this relationship constitutes a causal effect. Using participants (N = 1651) drawn from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study linked to nationwide administrative data from Statistics Finland, this study examined whether educational attainment, measured by years of education, is related to adulthood physical activity in terms of overall physical activity, weekly hours of intensive activity, total steps per day, and aerobic steps per day.

Longitudinal Associations between Physical Activity and Educational Outcomes.

Purpose: This longitudinal study examined the role of leisure-time physical activity in academic achievement at the end of compulsory basic education and educational attainment in adulthood.

Methods: The data were drawn from the ongoing longitudinal Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, which was combined with register-based data from Statistics Finland. The study consisted of children who were 12 yr (n = 1723, 49% boys) and 15 yr (n = 2445, 48% boys) of age at the time when physical activity was measured.

Childhood Physical Activity and Adulthood Earnings.

Purpose: This study examined the associations between childhood physical activity level and adulthood earnings.

Methods: The data were drawn from the ongoing longitudinal Young Finns Study, which was combined with register-based Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data and register-based parents' background information from the Longitudinal Population Census of Statistics Finland. The study consisted of children who were 9 yr (n = 1257, 52% boys), 12 yr (n = 1662, 51% boys), and 15 yr (n = 1969, 49% boys) of age at the time when physical activity was measured.

Income and Physical Activity among Adults: Evidence from Self-Reported and Pedometer-Based Physical Activity Measurements.

This study examined the relationship between income and physical activity by using three measures to illustrate daily physical activity: the self-reported physical activity index for leisure-time physical activity, pedometer-based total steps for overall daily physical activity, and pedometer-based aerobic steps that reflect continuous steps for more than 10 min at a time. The study population consisted of 753 adults from Finland (mean age 41.7 years; 64% women) who participated in 2011 in the follow-up of the ongoing Young Finns study.