Causes, Consequences and Modification of Health Behaviour
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Health behaviours – smoking, drinking, diet and so on – re important influences on both physical and mental health. This programme attempts to understand how these behaviours impact on our health, and how they influence each other. This understanding will help to identify ways in which we can promote healthier behaviour, for example by helping people to stop smoking or reduce their drinking.
Technical Summary
The overarching aim of this programme is to understand relationships between health behaviours and both physical and mental health outcomes, in order to develop a better understanding of the mechanistic pathways that underline these relationships and identify targets for novel individual and population level interventions.
Our specific aims include:
- To identify novel genetic instruments relevant to health behaviours for use in Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses.
- To understand the network of causal relationships between health behaviours and a range of physical and mental health outcomes.
- To interrogate the mechanistic pathways that underlie causal relationships between behaviour and health and identify targets for intervention.
This programme will provide a flow of work that will provide mechanistic insight into causal relationships between health behaviours and both physical and mental health outcomes, and support subsequent intervention development and testing, through existing relationships with other major research groupings and industry partners.
Our specific aims include:
- To identify novel genetic instruments relevant to health behaviours for use in Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses.
- To understand the network of causal relationships between health behaviours and a range of physical and mental health outcomes.
- To interrogate the mechanistic pathways that underlie causal relationships between behaviour and health and identify targets for intervention.
This programme will provide a flow of work that will provide mechanistic insight into causal relationships between health behaviours and both physical and mental health outcomes, and support subsequent intervention development and testing, through existing relationships with other major research groupings and industry partners.
People |
ORCID iD |
Publications
Aczel B
(2020)
A consensus-based transparency checklist.
in Nature human behaviour
Akingbuwa WA
(2023)
Multivariate analyses of molecular genetic associations between childhood psychopathology and adult mood disorders and related traits.
in American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics
Akingbuwa WA
(2020)
Genetic Associations Between Childhood Psychopathology and Adult Depression and Associated Traits in 42 998 Individuals: A Meta-analysis.
in JAMA psychiatry
Anderson EL
(2021)
Is disrupted sleep a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease? Evidence from a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.
in International journal of epidemiology
Armitage JM
(2021)
Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on wellbeing in adulthood: a prospective cohort study.
in BMC public health
Bell J
(2020)
Early Metabolic Features of Genetic Liability to Type 2 Diabetes: Cohort Study With Repeated Metabolomics Across Early Life
in Diabetes Care
Blackwell AKM
(2018)
Informing drinkers: Can current UK alcohol labels be improved?
in Drug and alcohol dependence
Bone JK
(2019)
Variation in recognition of happy and sad facial expressions and self-reported depressive symptom severity: A prospective cohort study.
in Journal of affective disorders
Bould H
(2020)
Does repeatedly viewing overweight versus underweight images change perception of and satisfaction with own body size?
in Royal Society open science
Related Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Award Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MC_UU_00011/1 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £2,864,000 | ||
| MC_UU_00011/2 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/1 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £965,000 |
| MC_UU_00011/3 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/2 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £1,011,000 |
| MC_UU_00011/4 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/3 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £1,329,000 |
| MC_UU_00011/5 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/4 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £1,254,000 |
| MC_UU_00011/6 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/5 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £1,640,000 |
| MC_UU_00011/7 | Transfer | MC_UU_00011/6 | 01/04/2018 | 31/03/2023 | £1,083,000 |
| Description | Collaborative Award |
| Amount | £3,123,724 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 206853/Z/17/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Confidence in Global Mental Health Research |
| Amount | £173,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MC_PC_MR/R019622/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 02/2019 |
| Description | PHIND |
| Amount | £149,993 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 10/2020 |
| Description | Registered Reports Funding: A pilot and feasibility study |
| Amount | £59,605 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 214528 |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | fMRI investigation of the neural mechanisms of Emotional Cognitive Bias Modification as an adjunct therapy to SSRIs in depression. |
| Amount | £504,133 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/S035648/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 12/2022 |
| Description | AstraZeneca Postdoctoral Fellowship |
| Organisation | AstraZeneca |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We are exploring the role of genetic variation in smoking behaviour, using recall-by-genotype and human laboratory designs. |
| Collaborator Contribution | AstraZeneca have provided a postdoctoral research fellow on secondment to my group, and consumables funding, to support this project. This was extended by 1 years to investigate patterns of smoking behaviour in COPD patients. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | BBC Inside Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview on BBC Inside Health discussing the polarisation of the debate on e-cigarettes for tobacco harm reduction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Bristol Take Drugs Seriously |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised in collaboration with Transform Drug Policy Foundation and the University of the West of England. Main event held in Colston Hall on 23 January 2020 - exhibition, guest lecture (David Nutt) and panel debate. Other events held across week including book launch. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Creative Reactions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Creative Reactions - a collaboration between artists and scientists, resulting in artworks depicting ongoing research activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Green Man Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stall in Einstein's Garden at Green Man Festival, with a number of activities demonstrating research conducted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | It Takes a Village |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Showcasing research to professional services staff across the University of Bristol to highlight / recognise their contributions to the research process. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Take Drugs Seriously |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We brought together academics, service providers, practitioners, policy makers and political party groups in Colston Hall to promote conversation on drugs and drug policy and to demonstrate the amount of work that is being achieved in the city. The event comprised of an exhibition, followed by a talk from the former Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Professor David Nutt, and a panel debate including Professor Nutt, the deputy mayor of Bristol, Cllr Asher Craig, the CEO of Bristol Drugs Project Maggie Telfer, and the Anyone's Child Activist Cara Lavan. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://transformdrugs.org/blog/bristol-take-drugs-seriously |