Genetics and occupational status: gene-environment interplay, intergenerational transmission, careers and health

Socioeconomic status (SES) impacts health and life course outcomes. This GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) on sociologically-informed occupational status measures (ISEI, SIOPS, and CAMSIS) using the UKBiobank (N=273,157) identified 106 independent SNPs of which 8 are novel to the study of SES. Genetic correlation analyses point to a common genetic factor for SES. Reduction in within-family compared to population-based prediction was attributed in equal parts to indirect parental effects and assortative mating. Using polygenic scores from population predictions of 5-8%, we, firstly, showed that cognitive and non-cognitive traits – including scholastic and occupational motivation and aspiration – link genetic scores to occupational status. Second, 62% of the intergenerational transmission of occupational status can be ascribed to non-genetic inheritance such as family environment and possibly the effects of rare genetic variants. Finally, the link between genetics, occupation, career trajectory, and health are interrelated with parental occupational status.