Effects of alcohol consumption on employment and social outcomes: a Mendelian randomisation study.

Abstract

Aims: Alcohol consumption is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, but causality is unclear. We used Mendelian randomisation (MR) to estimate the effect of alcohol consumption on socioeconomic and employment-related outcomes.

Methods: We conducted observational analyses and two-sample MR analyses using 230 775 working-age participants (aged 40+) of White British ethnicity/ancestry (54.5% male) from the UK Biobank.

Outcomes: employment status (employed vs not; employed vs sickness/disability, unemployment, retirement or caring for home/family); weekly hours worked (among employed); deprivation (Townsend Deprivation Index); highest educational attainment; and household income.

Exposures: alcohol consumption (units per week), hazardous alcohol consumption assessed by Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-C score and Alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Results: MR analyses suggested that alcohol exposure increased the risk of living in a more deprived area. A unit per week increase in alcohol consumption increased deprivation by 0.31 deciles (95% CI: 0.10, 0.52). A unit increase in liability for AUD increased deprivation by 0.09 deciles (95% CI: 0.02, 0.16). Findings, and often effect directions, differed by sex. In men, increased alcohol consumption decreased household income and increased the risk of not being in paid employment and unemployment. In women, increased alcohol consumption decreased the risk of not being in paid employment, retirement, and caring for home/family. Effects were generally more detrimental for men than women. This is especially evident for not being in paid employment, household income, and deprivation.

Conclusions: Alcohol consumption may increase the risk of living in deprived neighbourhoods. It may have deleterious effects on employment (including unemployment) and income, but these differ strongly by sex, largely affecting men.