MentalHealthDaily

IQ and Socioeconomic Status: TwinLife Study Finds 69-98% Genetic Overlap

by GLOOM

Editorial card about cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, twin modeling, and genetic-environmental overlap.

A 2026 TwinLife analysis found that cognitive ability at age 23 predicted education and occupational status at age 27, and bivariate twin models attributed 69-98% of the shared IQ–SES variance to genetic factors rather than unique environment.1 The calibrated reading is narrow but important: the finding argues against treating cognition, schooling, and occupation as purely …

Cognitive Reserve in First-Episode Psychosis: Education PRS Adds 4.2%

by GLOOM

Photoreal illustration of brain with strengthening neural networks suggesting reserve and protection against cognitive decline.

A 2026 analysis of 174 people with non-affective first-episode psychosis found that cognitive reserve was tied to 3 signals available near illness onset: age at onset, family history of psychosis, and polygenic liability for educational attainment. Adding the education polygenic score raised the model’s adjusted R² from 13.5% to 17.7%, a real but modest gain …