Educational attainment, income, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A mediation analysis based on two-step Mendelian randomization.

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have reported the relationship between educational attainment and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the mechanism of this relationship remains unknown. It is well known that educational attainment correlates with income. Therefore, based on summary data from a genome-wide association study we used two-step Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore the role of income between education and ADHD. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used in our analysis. The IVW results suggested that educational attainment and income were protective factors against ADHD. Educational attainment affects ADHD through income [ADHD Beta = -0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.87, -0.49; female Beta = -0.87, 95% CI = -1.28, -0.47; male Beta = -1.01, 95% CI = -1.34, -0.68; childhood Beta = -0.52, 95% CI = -0.74, -0.30; late-diagnosed Beta = -0.78, 95% CI = -1.11, -0.47; persistent Beta = -0.82, 95% CI = -1.33, -0.31]. Income also affected ADHD through educational attainment [female Beta = -1.08, 95% CI = -1.35, -0.83; male Beta = -1.16, 95% CI = -1.57, -0.77; persistent Beta = -1.48, 95% CI = -2.09, -0.94]. In the final analysis, data with heterogeneity were analyzed using IVW random effects results. The mechanism is that income will mediate the relationship between educational attainment and ADHD.