Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T23:45:21.037Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Associations between IQ and common mental disorders: The 2000 British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

S. Rajput ,
A. Hassiotis ,
M. Richards ,
S.L. Hatch  and
R. Stewart
S. Rajput
Affiliation:
King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry), De Crespigny Park, LondonSE5 8AF, United Kingdom
A. Hassiotis
Affiliation:
Royal Free and University College Medical School, 67-73, Riding House Street, LondonW1W 7EY, United Kingdom
M. Richards
Affiliation:
MRC Survey for Health and Development, 33, Bedford Place, LondonWC1B 5JU, United Kingdom
S.L. Hatch
Affiliation:
King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry), De Crespigny Park, LondonSE5 8AF, United Kingdom
R. Stewart*
Affiliation:
King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry), De Crespigny Park, LondonSE5 8AF, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +020 7848 0136; fax: +020 7848 5450. E-mail address: r.stewart@iop.kcl.ac.uk (R. Stewart).
Get access

Abstract

Background

Associations have been described between lower IQ and serious mental illness. Associations between common mental disorders (CMDs) and IQ have received little research. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between verbal IQ and CMD symptoms and diagnoses, and to investigate the role of potential mediating and confounding factors.

Method

Data were analysed from a British national survey with an analysed sample of 8054 people aged 16–74 years. Associations between verbal IQ (NART) and mental symptoms/disorders (CIS-R) were analysed with covariates including education, social class, income, debt, problem drinking, life events, physical health and relationship quality.

Results

CMD was associated with lower IQ. This association was stronger for depressive disorder/symptoms than for generalised anxiety disorder/symptoms. The most important covariates were education, social class, income and relationship quality.

Conclusions

The association between lower IQ and CMD is partly accounted for by adverse social/socioeconomic conditions. Stronger associations for depression than anxiety may indicate an effect of IQ on the way mental distress is communicated.

Keywords

Common mental disordersAffective disordersDepressive disorderAnxiety disordersIntelligenceIQEpidemiologyCross-sectional survey
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 26 , Issue 6 , September 2011 , pp. 390 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Babor, T, de la Fuente, JR, Saunders, J, Grant, MAUDIT The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Guidelines for use in Primary Health Care. Geneva: World Health Organisation: 1992.Google Scholar
Batty, GD, Mortensen, EL, Osler, MChildhood IQ in relation to later psychiatric disorder: evidence from a Danish birth cohort study. Br J Psychiat 2005;187:180–181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brugha, T, Bebbington, P, Tennant, C, Hurry, JThe List of Threatening Experiences: a subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat. Psychol Med 1985;15:189–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, C, Rodgers, B, Caldwell, T, Power, P, Stansfeld, SChildhood and adulthood psychological ill health as predictors of midlife affective and anxiety disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;64:668–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colman, I, Ploubidis, GB, Wadsworth, MEJ, Jones, PB, Croudace, TJA longitudinal typology of symptoms of depression and anxiety over the life course. Biol Psychiatry 2007;62:1265–1271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawford, JR, Besson, JA, Parker, DM, Sutherland, KM, Keen, PLEstimation of premorbid intellectual status in depression. Br J Clin Psychol 1987;26:313–314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Das-Munshi, J, Goldberg, D, Bebbington, PE, Bhugra, DK, Brugha, TS, Dewey, ME, Jenkins, R, Stewart, R, Prince, MPublic health significance of mixed anxiety and depression: beyond current classification. Br J Psychiat 2008;192:171–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
David, AS, Malmberg, A, Brandt, L, Allebeck, P, Lewis, GIQ and risk for schizophrenia: a population-based cohort study. Psychol Med 1997;27:1311–1323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, M, Reichenberg, A, Rabinowitz, J, Weiser, M, Kaplan, Z, Mark, MBehavioral and intellectual markers for schizophrenia in apparently healthy male adolescents. Am J Psychiat 1999;156:1328–1335.Google ScholarPubMed
Deary, IJ, Whalley, LJ, Lemmon, H, Crawford, JR, Starr, JMThe stability of individual differences in mental ability from childhood to old age: follow-up of the 1932 Scottish Mental Survey. Intelligence 2000;28:49–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grace, SL, Evindar, A, Stewart, DEThe effect of postpartum depression on child cognitive development and behavior: a review and critical analysis of the literature. Arch Women Ment Health 2003;6:263–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gunnell, D, Harrison, G, Rasmussen, F, Fouskakis, D, Tynelius, PAssociations between premorbid intellectual performance, early-life exposures and early-onset schizophrenia. Cohort study. Br J Psychiat 2002;181:298–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hassiotis, A, Strydom, A, Hall, I, Ali, A, Lawrence-Smith, G, Meltzer, H, Head, J, Bebbington, PPsychiatric morbidity and social functioning among adults with borderline intelligence living in private households. J Intellect Disab Res 2008;52:95–106.Google ScholarPubMed
Hatch, SL, Feinstein, L, Link, BG, Wadsworth, ME, Richards, MThe continuing benefits of education: adult education and midlife cognitive ability in the British 1946 birth cohort. J Gerontol (B) 2007;62:S404–S414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hatch, SL, Jones, PB, Kuh, D, Hardy, R, Wadsworth, ME, Richards, MChildhood cognitive ability and adult mental health in the British 1946 birth cohort. Soc Sci Med 2007;64:2285–2296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, R, Bhugra, D, Bebbington, P, Brugha, T, Farrell, M, Coid, J, et al.Debt, income and mental disorder in the general population. Psychol Med 2008;1–9 [Jan 10 Epub]Google ScholarPubMed
Lewis, G, Pelosi, A, Araya, RC, Dunn, GMeasuring psychiatric disorder in the community: a standardised assessment for use by lay interviewers. Psychol Med 1992;22:465–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mortensen, EL, Sørensen, HT, Jensen, HH, Reinisch, JM, Mednick, SAIQ and mental disorder in young men. Br J Psychiat 2005;187:407–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, HE, Willison, JRNational Adult Reading Test (NART). 2 ed., Windsor: NEFR-Nelson; 1991.Google Scholar
Plassman, BL, Welsh, KA, Helms, M, Brandt, J, Page, WF, Breitner, JCIntelligence and education as predictors of cognitive state in late life: a 50-year follow-up. Neurology 1995;45:1446–1450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, M, Sacker, ALifetime antecedents of cognitive reserve. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2003;25:614–624.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M, Kim-Cohen, J, Maughan, BContinuities and discontinuities in psychopathology between childhood and adult life. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2006;47:276–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singleton, N, Bumpstead, R, O’Brien, M, Lee, A, Meltzer, HPsychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households. London: The Stationery Office: 2000.Google Scholar
Singleton, N, Lee, A, Meltzer, HPsychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households, 2000: technical report. London: HMSO: 2002.Google Scholar
Snowdon, DA, Kemper, SJ, Mortimer, JA, Greiner, LH, Wekstein, DR, Markesbery, WRLinguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life. JAMA 1996;275:528–532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Os, J, Jones, P, Lewis, G, Wadsworth, M, Murray, RDevelopmental precursors of affective illness in a general population birth cohort. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997;54:625–631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zammit, S, Allebeck, P, David, AS, Dalman, C, Hemmingsson, T, Lundberg, I, Lewis, GA longitudinal study of premorbid IQ Score and risk of developing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and other nonaffective psychoses. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2004;61:354–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.