25-hydroxyvitamin D ↔ Disposable income
A rise in 25-hydroxyvitamin D does not identify a change in Disposable income.
People with money and outdoor lives have higher 25(OH)D. That is not D causing the money.
Observational · High confidence
The association disappears when you account for other factors, like socioeconomic status or healthy-user bias.
Mechanism
Autier et al. (2014): observational D–disease links do not survive RCTs. The same structure applies to D–income. Outdoor time, BMI, and health-seeking sit on the backdoor. VITAL then showed D3 does not even deliver the promised disease endpoints in a general population.
Caveats
Deficiency correction in institutionalized or deeply deficient groups is a different estimand. Do not use this edge to argue against treating rickets.
Effect
qualitative. Classic marker: outdoor leisure, latitude, adiposity, and wealth all move both variables.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “25-hydroxyvitamin D → Disposable income.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-vitd-income-spurious (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Vitamin D status and ill health: a systematic review
P. Autier, M. Boniol, C. Pizot, P. Mullie · 2014 · The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
- Vitamin D supplements and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease
J. E. Manson, N. R. Cook, I. M. Lee · 2019 · New England Journal of Medicine