Maria Fernanda Vinueza Veloz

• Jones, Paul Remy; Bhatta, Laxmi; Howe, Laurence J.; Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza; Davies, Neil Martin & Smith, George Davey [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2025). Education and cardiovascular disease: A within-family Mendelian randomization analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology. ISSN 0300-5771. 54(5). doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaf144. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background: Observational studies have consistently found educational inequalities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses have suggested a direct causal effect of education; however, estimates may be biased by demography or dynastic effects. This study aimed to estimate the effects of educational attainment on CVD risk and serum lipid concentrations before and after accounting for family structure. Methods: This study included 26 961 siblings from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) and 23 640 siblings from UK Biobank, and used data on >120 000 individuals, predominantly of European ancestry, from a recent international within-sibship genome-wide association study. The exposure was educational attainment. The outcomes were CVD risk and serum concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Standard and within-sibship MR analyses were used. Results: In the summary data analysis, there was a 6% lower risk of CVD [odds ratio (OR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92 to 0.96] for each additional standard deviation of liability to educational attainment. This was consistent having accounted for family structure (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.01). Educational attainment was also beneficially associated with each serum lipid concentration both before and after accounting for family structure. Results were broadly similar in the individual participant analysis. Conclusion: There is a protective effect of educational attainment on CVD risk and a beneficial effect on serum lipid concentrations not due to familial factors shared by siblings, suggesting that increasing education may be beneficial for cardiovascular health.

• Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza; Bhatta, Laxmi; Jones, Paul Remy; Tesli, Martin Steen; Smith, George Davey & Davies, Neil Martin [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2025). Educational attainment and mental health outcomes: A within-sibship Mendelian randomization study. Psychological Medicine. ISSN 0033-2917. 55, p. 1–10. doi: 10.1017/s0033291725101736. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Background Observational studies indicate that higher educational attainment (EA) is associated with a lower risk of many mental health conditions (MHC). We assessed to what extent this association is influenced by genetic nurture and demographic factors (i.e., assortative mating and population structure). Methods We conducted a within-sibship Mendelian randomization (MR) study. The sample consisted of 61 880 siblings (27 507 sibships) from the Trøndelag Health Study-HUNT (Norway) and UK Biobank (United Kingdom). MHC outcomes included symptom scores for anxiety, depression, and neuroticism, measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, along with self-reported psychotropic medication use. Results One standard deviation (SD) increase in liability to EA was associated with lower anxiety (−0.20 SD [95% CI: −0.26, −0.14]), depression (−0.11 SD [−0.43, −0.22]), and neuroticism scores (−0.30 SD [−0.53, −0.06]), as well as lower odds of psychotropic medication use (OR: 0.60 [0.52, 0.69]). Within-sibship MR estimates remained consistent with population-based estimates: anxiety (−0.17 SD [−0.33, −0.00]); depression (−0.18 SD [−1.26, 0.89]); neuroticism (−0.29 SD [−0.43, −0.15]); psychotropic medication use (OR, 0.52 [0.34, 0.82]). Conclusions Higher EA or genetic liability to education reduces symptoms of anxiety, neuroticism, and psychotropic medication use. These mental health benefits do not seem to be explained by EA-linked genetic nurture or demographic factors. Regarding depression, results were less conclusive due to imprecise estimates, though beneficial effects of genetic liability to higher EA are possible and warrant further investigation.

• Nguyen, Huong Thu; Kjøllesdal, Marte Karoline Råberg; Choi, Hye Jung; Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza & Næss, Øyvind Erik (2025). Quantifying the dose-response relationship between childhood family education levels and cardiovascular disease risk. Public Health. ISSN 0033-3506. 247. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.105849. Full text in Research Archive
• Cavagnari, Brian M.; Guerrero-Vaca, Darío Javier; Carpio-Arias, Tannia Valeria; Duran-Aguero, Samuel; Vinueza-Veloz, Andrés Fernando & Robalino-Valdivieso, María Paulina [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2023). The double burden of malnutrition and gross motor development in infants: A cross-sectional study. Clinical Nutrition. ISSN 0261-5614. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2023.05.001. Full text in Research Archive

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• Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza; Næss, Øyvind Erik; Bhatta, Laxmi; Brumpton, Ben Michael & Jones, Paul Remy (2024). Estimating maternal and paternal effects of educational attainment on offspring. Full text in Research Archive
• Choi, Hye Jung; Nguyen, Huong Thu; Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza; Næss, Øyvind Erik & Jones, Paul Remy (2024). Life course socioeconomic position and cardiovascular disease: The combined influence of shared family factors, cognitive ability, and risk factors. Full text in Research Archive
• Nguyen, Huong Thu; Kjøllesdal, Marte Karoline Råberg; Veloz, Maria Fernanda Vinueza; Næss, Øyvind Erik & Jones, Paul Remy (2022). The relation between average level of education among all first-degree family members and risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Full text in Research Archive

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