A hypothesis-free approach to identifying potential effects of relative age in school year: an instrumental variable phenome-wide association study in the UK Biobank.
IF 5 2区 医学Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Melanie A de Lange, Neil M Davies, Louise A C Millard, Kate Tilling
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
A child's relative age within their school year ("relative age") is associated with educational attainment and mental health. However, hypothesis-driven studies often re-examine the same outcomes and exposure, potentially leading to confirmation and reporting biases and missing unknown effects. Hypothesis-free outcome-wide analyses can potentially overcome these limitations. We conducted a hypothesis-free investigation of the effects of relative age within school year. We performed an instrumental variable (IV) phenome-wide association study in the UK Biobank (participants aged 40-69 years at baseline), using the PHESANT software package. We created 2 IVs for relative age: being born in September vs August (n = 64 075) and week of birth (n = 383 309). Outcomes passing the Bonferroni-corrected P value threshold for either instrument were plotted to identify a discontinuity at the school year transition. Thirteen traits associated with at least 1 of the instruments showed a discontinuity. Previously identified effects included those with a younger relative age being less likely to have educational qualifications and more likely to have started smoking at a younger age. We detected a few associations not explored by previous studies. For example, those of younger relative age had better lung function as adults. Hypothesis-free approaches could help address confirmation and reporting biases in epidemiology.
识别学年相对年龄潜在影响的无假设方法:英国生物库中的一项工具变量全局关联研究》(A Hypothesis-Free Approach to Identifying Potential Effects of Relative Age in School Year: an Instrumental Variable Phenome-Wide Association Study in the UK Biobank)。
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Epidemiology is the oldest and one of the premier epidemiologic journals devoted to the publication of empirical research findings, opinion pieces, and methodological developments in the field of epidemiologic research.
It is a peer-reviewed journal aimed at both fellow epidemiologists and those who use epidemiologic data, including public health workers and clinicians.