Heart failure & cardiomyopathies
Educational Attainment as the Primary Socioeconomic Determinant of Heart Failure: A Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study
Main finding · HF risk per 1 SD [4.2 years] educational attainmentResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 0.68 95% CI 0.55–0.83Authors' conclusion
Educational attainment is the primary causal component of SES affecting HF risk. These effects are mediated through modifiable lifestyle and cardiovascular factors, highlighting education as a key intervention target for HF prevention.
Study context
- Population
- Populations of European ancestry
- Comparison
- Genetically predicted socioeconomic status (SES) components (education, income, Townsend Deprivation Index), intelligence, and cognitive function and heart failure (HF) risk
- Outcome
- HF risk per 1 SD [4.2 years] educational attainment
Methodological detailsMultivariable MR, 2-step MR mediation analysis, summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies
- Multivariable MR
- 2-step MR mediation analysis
- Summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
0.68
95% CI 0.55–0.83
Educational attainment (per 1 SD [4.2 years])
OR 0.68 (95% CI 0.55–0.83)
Per 1 SD [4.2 years], as printed
Further findings
HF, intelligence, cognitive function, income, deprivation adjusted for education
- Intelligence, cognitive function, income, and deprivation were not independently associated with HF after adjusting for education
Mediators of the education-HF association
- Candidate mediators
- 88
- Met criteria for causal mediation
- 12
- Proportion mediated by myocardial infarction
- 61.4%
- Proportion mediated by body mass index
- 43.1%
- Proportion mediated by body fat
- 45.7%
- Mediators included smoking, sleep duration, body mass index, body fat percentage, triglyceride level, hypertension, metabolic disorders, hypercholesterolemia, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and atrial fibrillation
Original publication
Educational Attainment as the Primary Socioeconomic Determinant of Heart Failure: A Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study. JACC Adv. Published 23 October 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →