Table 1

The matrix

While other resources grade individual supplements or habits, this atlas grades the relationships between them. You can filter the table below, and the URL will update so you can easily share your exact view.

ScopeAll

Layer

Biology & endocrinology Psychology & behavior Socioeconomic status Lifestyle & environment

Stamp

Robust causal Genetic causal Feedback loop Spurious / confounded

From	Stamp	Sign	To	Design	N papers
25(OH)D	MECHANISM	0 NULL	Cognition	Randomized trial	3
25(OH)D	MECHANISM	0 NULL	Depression	Randomized trial	3
25(OH)D	MENDELIAN	0 NULL	Employment	Mendelian randomization	2
25(OH)D	SMOKE	0 NULL	Income	Observational	2
25(OH)D	MENDELIAN	~ NON-LINEAR	Mortality	Mendelian randomization	3
Aerobic	MECHANISM	0 NULL	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	1
Aerobic	SMOKE	− DECREASES	Mortality	Observational	7
Alcohol	MENDELIAN	+ INCREASES	CV events	Mendelian randomization	5
Alcohol	MENDELIAN	+ INCREASES	Mortality	Mendelian randomization	1
Alcohol	MECHANISM	~ NON-LINEAR	T	Review	4
Air pollution	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	Mortality	Observational	3
Ashwagandha	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	Cortisol	Randomized trial	1
Ashwagandha	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	T	Randomized trial	1
Berberine	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	3
Lead	SMOKE	− DECREASES	Cognition	Observational	6
Caffeine	SMOKE	~ NON-LINEAR	Mortality	Meta-analysis	4
Chromium	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	5
Smoking	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Observational	2
CoQ10	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	CV events	Randomized trial	3
Win/loss	LOOP	+ INCREASES	T	Longitudinal / panel	3
Cortisol	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	Leadership	Observational	2
Creatine	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	Strength	Randomized trial	4
DHEA-S	MECHANISM	0 NULL	Cognition	Randomized trial	4
DHEA-S	SMOKE	0 NULL	Status	Randomized trial	1
Eating window	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	8
E2	SMOKE	? CONDITIONAL	Dominance	Meta-analysis	2
Power pose	SMOKE	0 NULL	T	Randomized trial	4
Fenugreek	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	T	Randomized trial	3
Ferritin	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	Cognition	Randomized trial	4
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	CV events	Randomized trial	3
GLP-1	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	Fertility	Randomized trial	4
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	4
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	Kidney	Randomized trial	3
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	Mortality	Randomized trial	2
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	OSA	Randomized trial	3
GLP-1	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	Strength	Randomized trial	2
Green tea	MECHANISM	0 NULL	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	3
Hearing	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	Cognition	Randomized trial	3
Inositol	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	3
Job strain	SMOKE	? CONDITIONAL	Cortisol	Observational	4
Loneliness	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	Mortality	Meta-analysis	4
Magnesium	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	5
Med diet	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	2
Shift work	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	2
Traffic noise	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	CV events	Meta-analysis	3
OSA	MECHANISM	0 NULL	Cognition	Randomized trial	3
OSA	MECHANISM	0 NULL	CV events	Randomized trial	3
OSA	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	7
Omega-3	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	CV events	Randomized trial	3
OT	SMOKE	0 NULL	Trust	Randomized trial	5
Prenatal famine	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Observational	2
Sitting	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	6
Lifting	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	2
Lifting	MECHANISM	~ NON-LINEAR	T	Observational	2
Sleep	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	Cortisol	Randomized trial	2
Sleep	MECHANISM	− DECREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	11
Sleep	SMOKE	~ NON-LINEAR	Mortality	Meta-analysis	7
Sleep	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	T	Randomized trial	5
T	MECHANISM	0 NULL	CV events	Randomized trial	1
T	MECHANISM	UNSIGNED	Risk	Randomized trial	7
T	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	Status	Observational	4
T	LOOP	+ INCREASES	Win/loss	Longitudinal / panel	2
T	MECHANISM	? CONDITIONAL	UG reject	Randomized trial	3
T/C	SMOKE	0 NULL	Status	Observational	2
Outdoors	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	25(OH)D	Observational	2
UPF	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	HOMA-IR	Randomized trial	3
Widowhood	SMOKE	+ INCREASES	Mortality	Observational	2
Zinc	MECHANISM	+ INCREASES	T	Randomized trial	2

68 edges in this cut

Cite this page

What Causes What. “Effect matrix.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/matrix?layer=biology (atlas updated 2026-09-02).

https://whatcauseswhat.org/matrix?layer=biology

Loading the atlas…