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 |
Marcus Munafo (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Thomas KH
(2022)
Comparative clinical effectiveness and safety of tobacco cessation pharmacotherapies and electronic cigarettes: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Wootton RE
(2021)
Bidirectional effects between loneliness, smoking and alcohol use: evidence from a Mendelian randomization study.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Skinner AL
(2018)
Evaluating clinical stop-smoking services globally: towards a minimum data set.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Reed ZE
(2022)
Using Mendelian randomization to explore the gateway hypothesis: possible causal effects of smoking initiation and alcohol consumption on substance use outcomes.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Katikireddi SV
(2018)
Assessing causal relationships using genetic proxies for exposures: an introduction to Mendelian randomization.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Mahedy L
(2021)
Alcohol use and cognitive functioning in young adults: improving causal inference.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Yücel M
(2019)
A transdiagnostic dimensional approach towards a neuropsychological assessment for addiction: an international Delphi consensus study.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Minica CC
(2018)
Genome-wide association meta-analysis of age at first cannabis use.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Taylor AE
(2018)
Associations of coffee genetic risk scores with consumption of coffee, tea and other beverages in the UK Biobank.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Notley C
(2022)
Youth use of e-liquid flavours-a systematic review exploring patterns of use of e-liquid flavours and associations with continued vaping, tobacco smoking uptake or cessation.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Treur JL
(2018)
Commentary on Kristjansson et al. (2018): Caffeine use during early adolescence as a possible risk factor for initiation of smoking and alcohol use.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Skaaby T
(2019)
Association of alcohol consumption with allergic disease and asthma: a multi-centre Mendelian randomization analysis.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Dyer ML
(2019)
Associations of child and adolescent anxiety with later alcohol use and disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Garnett C
(2021)
Evaluating the effectiveness of the smartphone app, Drink Less, compared with the NHS alcohol advice webpage, for the reduction of alcohol consumption among hazardous and harmful adult drinkers in the UK at 6-month follow-up: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Davies NM
(2018)
The effects of prescribing varenicline on two-year health outcomes: an observational cohort study using electronic medical records.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Haan E
(2022)
Prenatal smoking, alcohol and caffeine exposure and offspring externalizing disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Reed ZE
(2022)
Response to Vanyukov: Why causality is a valid question for the gateway hypothesis.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Hajek P
(2018)
Mediators of the effect of nicotine pre-treatment on quitting smoking.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Gunn C
(2018)
A systematic review of the next-day effects of heavy alcohol consumption on cognitive performance.
in Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Treur JL
(2021)
Investigating causality between liability to ADHD and substance use, and liability to substance use and ADHD risk, using Mendelian randomization.
in Addiction biology
Mahedy L
(2018)
Corrigendum: Alcohol Use in Adolescence and Later Working Memory: Findings From a Large Population-Based Birth Cohort.
in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
Mahedy L
(2018)
Alcohol Use in Adolescence and Later Working Memory: Findings From a Large Population-Based Birth Cohort.
in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
Easey KE
(2020)
Association of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Offspring Depression: A Negative Control Analysis of Maternal and Partner Consumption.
in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
Haan E
(2021)
Maternal and offspring genetic risk score analyses of fetal alcohol exposure and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder risk in offspring.
in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
Jamieson E
(2020)
Smoking, DNA Methylation, and Lung Function: a Mendelian Randomization Analysis to Investigate Causal Pathways.
in American journal of human genetics
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
Hall MG
(2019)
Causal Language in Health Warning Labels and US Adults' Perception: A Randomized Experiment.
in American journal of public health
Norris T
(2021)
Distinct Body Mass Index Trajectories to Young-Adulthood Obesity and Their Different Cardiometabolic Consequences.
in Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology
O'Keeffe LM
(2018)
Associations of Y chromosomal haplogroups with cardiometabolic risk factors and subclinical vascular measures in males during childhood and adolescence.
in Atherosclerosis
Crowe E
(2019)
Goal-directed unequal attention allocation during multiple object tracking
in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics
Madley-Dowd P
(2023)
Trends and patterns of antiseizure medication prescribing during pregnancy between 1995 and 2018 in the United Kingdom: A cohort study
in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Taylor GMJ
(2021)
Addressing concerns about smoking cessation and mental health: theoretical review and practical guide for healthcare professionals.
in BJPsych advances
Gormley M
(2022)
Investigating the effect of sexual behaviour on oropharyngeal cancer risk: a methodological assessment of Mendelian randomization.
in BMC medicine
Lloyd EC
(2020)
Understanding the nature of association between anxiety phenotypes and anorexia nervosa: a triangulation approach.
in BMC psychiatry
Khouja JN
(2019)
Is screen time associated with anxiety or depression in young people? Results from a UK birth cohort.
in BMC public health
Sillero-Rejon C
(2018)
Alcohol pictorial health warning labels: the impact of self-affirmation and health warning severity.
in BMC public health
Armitage JM
(2021)
Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on wellbeing in adulthood: a prospective cohort study.
in BMC public health
Davey Smith G
(2020)
Covid-19's known unknowns.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Carter AR
(2019)
Understanding the consequences of education inequality on cardiovascular disease: mendelian randomisation study.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Skrivankova VW
(2021)
Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology using mendelian randomisation (STROBE-MR): explanation and elaboration.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Richmond RC
(2019)
Investigating causal relations between sleep traits and risk of breast cancer in women: mendelian randomisation study.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Gibson MJ
(2023)
Reporting and methodological quality of studies that use Mendelian randomisation in UK Biobank: a meta-epidemiological study.
in BMJ evidence-based medicine
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 | 12/2024 |
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 |