Behavioural, Social and Environmental Determinants of Physical and Mental Health

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Behaviours such as smoking and drinking are known to cause poor health outcomes, but our knowledge remains incomplete. In particular, these different behaviours can influence each other, and can play out across generations (for example, parental behaviour can influence the behaviour of their children). At the same time, other factors, such as length of time spent in education, play an important role. This programme seeks to develop a better understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between a range of different health behaviours (e.g., smoking and drinking) and social factors (e.g., education) on physical and mental health, including an inter-generational perspective that will help us to understand the role of the family environment. To do this, we will use a range of techniques that allow us to more confidently determine whether a relationship that we observe (e.g., between a particular behaviour and a health outcome) reflects cause-and-effect. This includes a technique known as Mendelian Randomisation, that uses genetic information to understand cause-and-effect relationships. You can find out more about this technique here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoTgfGotaQ4