Dr Rachel Thomson

  • Clinical Lecturer in Public Health (Public Health)

email: Rachel.Thomson@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: She/her/hers

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Clarice Pears Building, 90 Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8TB

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3060-939X

Biography

I graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2014 with an undergraduate medical degree (MBChB) and an intercalated BSc (Hons) in Psychological Medicine, before becoming a Specialty Registrar in Public Health Medicine in 2016. I subsequently obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH) with Distinction from the University of Glasgow, with my dissertation investigating the impact of the Great Recession and subsequent austerity measures on population mental health. In 2023 I completed a PhD in Public Health at the University of Glasgow, using microsimulation to model the potential impacts of Universal Basic Income on mental health inequalities in the UK population.

Following my PhD I have taken up a Clinical Lecturer post in Public Health at the University, while retaining 60% clinical time to complete my public health training. I am based within the Inequalities programme of the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit. My research remains focused on the economic determinants of health and policy modelling, with an emerging interest in modelling the health impacts of social policy changes related to climate adaptation. My clinical public health work has spanned a range of topics including public health advocacy, the health needs of the working-age population, public mental health, and a national needs assessment of Scottish gender identity services.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2014
Number of items: 25.

2024

McCabe, R. et al. (2024) The implications of child poverty reduction targets for public health and health inequalities in England: a modelling study between 2024 and 2033. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 78(10), pp. 632-640. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2024-222313) (PMID:39107099) (PMCID:PMC11420728)

Kopasker, D. et al. (2024) Evaluating the influence of taxation and social security policies on psychological distress: a microsimulation study of the UK during the COVID-19 economic crisis. Social Science and Medicine, 351, 116953. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116953) (PMID:38759385)

Shimonovich, M. , Campbell, M. , Thomson, R. M. , Broadbent, P., Wells, V. , Kopasker, D. , McCartney, G. , Thomson, H. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2024) Causal assessment of income inequality on self-rated health and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Milbank Quarterly, 102(1), pp. 141-182. (doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.12689) (PMID:38294094)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Bronka, P., Richiardi, M., Khodygo, V. , Baxter, A. J. , Igelstrom, E. , Pearce, A. , Leyland, A. H. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2024) Short-term impacts of Universal Basic Income on population mental health inequalities in the UK: a microsimulation modelling study. PLoS Medicine, 21(3), e1004358. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004358) (PMID:38437214)

Brown, H. et al. (2024) Association between individual level characteristics and take-up of a Minimum Income Guarantee for Pensioners: Panel Data Analysis using data from the British Household Panel survey 1999–2002. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 9, 100847. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100847)

2023

Purba, A. K., Thomson, R. M. , Henery, P. M., Pearce, A. , Henderson, M. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) Social media use and adolescent health-risk behaviours in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 383, e073552. (doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-073552) (PMID:38030217) (PMCID:PMC10685288)

Höhn, A. et al. (2023) Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 77(9), pp. 610-616. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-220435) (PMID:37328262) (PMCID:PMC10423532)

Broadbent, P., Thomson, R. , Kopasker, D. , McCartney, G. , Meier, P. , Richiardi, M., McKee, M. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) The public health implications of the cost-of-living crisis: outlining mechanisms and modelling consequences. Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 27, 100585. (doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100585) (PMID:37035237) (PMCID:PMC10068020)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) Effects of poverty on mental health in the UK working-age population: causal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 52(2), pp. 512-522. (doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac226) (PMID:36479855) (PMCID:PMC10114108)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) To what extent does income explain the effect of unemployment on mental health? Mediation analysis in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Psychological Medicine, 53(13), pp. 6271-6279. (doi: 10.1017/S0033291722003580) (PMID:36453184) (PMCID:PMC10520578)

2022

Pulford, A., Thapa, A., Thomson, R. , Guilding, A., Green, M. , Leyland, A. H. , Popham, F. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2022) Does persistent precarious employment affect health outcomes among working age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(11), pp. 909-917. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2022-219292) (PMID:36137738) (PMCID:PMC9554022)

Kromydas, T. , Green, M. , Craig, P. , Katikireddi, S. V. , Leyland, A. H. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. , Pearce, A. , Thomson, R. M. and Demou, E. (2022) Comparing population-level mental health of UK workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study using Understanding Society. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(6), pp. 527-536. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2021-218561) (PMID:35296523) (PMCID:PMC8931794)

Thomson, R. M. , Igelstrom, E. , Purba, A. K., Shimonovich, M. , Thomson, H. , McCartney, G. , Reeves, A., Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2022) How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health, 7(6), e515-e528. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00058-5) (PMID:35660213) (PMCID:PMC7614874)

2021

Tweed, E. J. et al. (2021) Health of people experiencing co-occurring homelessness, imprisonment, substance use, sex work and/or severe mental illness in high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(10), pp. 1010-1018. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-215975) (PMID:33893182) (PMCID:PMC8458085)

Kromydas, T. , Green, M., Craig, P. , Katikireddi, S. V. , Leyland, A. H. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. , Pearce, A. , Thomson, R. M. and Demou, E. (2021) Population-level Changes in the Mental Health of UK Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study Using Understanding Society. Society for Social Medicine & Population Health 65th ASM, 15-17 Sep 2021.

Kromydas, T. , Thomson, R. M. , Pulford, A., Green, M. J. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2021) Which is most important for mental health: money, poverty, or paid work? A fixed-effects analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. SSM - Population Health, 15, 100909. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100909) (PMID:34584931) (PMCID:PMC8455855)

Niedzwiedz, C. L. et al. (2021) Mental health and health behaviours before and during the initial phase of the COVID-19 lockdown: longitudinal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(3), pp. 224-231. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-215060) (PMID:32978210) (PMCID:PMC7892383)

2020

Burnett, D. et al. (2020) Protecting the health of the working-age population as lockdown reduces. [Research Reports or Papers]

Thomson, R. M. , Pearce, A. , Leyland, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2020) The Causal Effects of Transition into Poverty on Mental Health in the UK Working-Age Population. 16th World Congress on Public Health 2020: Public Health for the future of humanity: analysis, advocacy and action, 12-16 Oct 2020.

2019

Thomson, R. M. , Henderson, H. J. and Smith-Palmer, A. (2019) An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul in a Scottish childcare facility: the influence of parental under-reporting. BMC Infectious Diseases, 19, 847. (doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-4516-z) (PMID:31615435) (PMCID:PMC6794835)

Thomson, R. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2019) Improving the health of trans people: the need for good data. Lancet Public Health, 4(8), e369-e370. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30129-X) (PMID:31376853) (PMCID:PMC6894941)

2018

Thomson, R. M. and Katikireddi, S. (2018) Mental health and the jilted generation: Using age-period-cohort analysis to assess differential trends in young people’s mental health following the great recession and austerity in England. Social Science and Medicine, 214, pp. 133-143. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.08.034) (PMID:30195100) (PMCID:PMC6176124)

Thomson, R. M. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2018) Trends in gender and socioeconomic inequalities in mental health following the Great Recession and subsequent austerity policies: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the Health Surveys for England. BMJ Open, 8(8), e022924. (doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022924) (PMID:30166307) (PMCID:PMC6119415)

Thomson, R. , Baker, J. and Arnot, J. (2018) Health Care Needs Assessment of Gender Identity Services. [Research Reports or Papers]

2014

Thomson, R. M. , Allely, C., Purves, D., Puckering, C., McConnachie, A. , Johnson, P. C.D., Golding, J., Gillberg, C. and Wilson, P. (2014) Predictors of positive and negative parenting behaviours: evidence from the ALSPAC cohort. BMC Pediatrics, 14, 247. (doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-14-247) (PMID:25280577) (PMCID:PMC4287514)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 30 07:30:22 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Research Reports or Papers | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 25.

Articles

McCabe, R. et al. (2024) The implications of child poverty reduction targets for public health and health inequalities in England: a modelling study between 2024 and 2033. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 78(10), pp. 632-640. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2024-222313) (PMID:39107099) (PMCID:PMC11420728)

Kopasker, D. et al. (2024) Evaluating the influence of taxation and social security policies on psychological distress: a microsimulation study of the UK during the COVID-19 economic crisis. Social Science and Medicine, 351, 116953. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116953) (PMID:38759385)

Shimonovich, M. , Campbell, M. , Thomson, R. M. , Broadbent, P., Wells, V. , Kopasker, D. , McCartney, G. , Thomson, H. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2024) Causal assessment of income inequality on self-rated health and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Milbank Quarterly, 102(1), pp. 141-182. (doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.12689) (PMID:38294094)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Bronka, P., Richiardi, M., Khodygo, V. , Baxter, A. J. , Igelstrom, E. , Pearce, A. , Leyland, A. H. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2024) Short-term impacts of Universal Basic Income on population mental health inequalities in the UK: a microsimulation modelling study. PLoS Medicine, 21(3), e1004358. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004358) (PMID:38437214)

Brown, H. et al. (2024) Association between individual level characteristics and take-up of a Minimum Income Guarantee for Pensioners: Panel Data Analysis using data from the British Household Panel survey 1999–2002. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 9, 100847. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100847)

Purba, A. K., Thomson, R. M. , Henery, P. M., Pearce, A. , Henderson, M. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) Social media use and adolescent health-risk behaviours in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 383, e073552. (doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-073552) (PMID:38030217) (PMCID:PMC10685288)

Höhn, A. et al. (2023) Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 77(9), pp. 610-616. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-220435) (PMID:37328262) (PMCID:PMC10423532)

Broadbent, P., Thomson, R. , Kopasker, D. , McCartney, G. , Meier, P. , Richiardi, M., McKee, M. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) The public health implications of the cost-of-living crisis: outlining mechanisms and modelling consequences. Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 27, 100585. (doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100585) (PMID:37035237) (PMCID:PMC10068020)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) Effects of poverty on mental health in the UK working-age population: causal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 52(2), pp. 512-522. (doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac226) (PMID:36479855) (PMCID:PMC10114108)

Thomson, R. M. , Kopasker, D. , Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2023) To what extent does income explain the effect of unemployment on mental health? Mediation analysis in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Psychological Medicine, 53(13), pp. 6271-6279. (doi: 10.1017/S0033291722003580) (PMID:36453184) (PMCID:PMC10520578)

Pulford, A., Thapa, A., Thomson, R. , Guilding, A., Green, M. , Leyland, A. H. , Popham, F. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2022) Does persistent precarious employment affect health outcomes among working age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(11), pp. 909-917. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2022-219292) (PMID:36137738) (PMCID:PMC9554022)

Kromydas, T. , Green, M. , Craig, P. , Katikireddi, S. V. , Leyland, A. H. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. , Pearce, A. , Thomson, R. M. and Demou, E. (2022) Comparing population-level mental health of UK workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study using Understanding Society. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(6), pp. 527-536. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2021-218561) (PMID:35296523) (PMCID:PMC8931794)

Thomson, R. M. , Igelstrom, E. , Purba, A. K., Shimonovich, M. , Thomson, H. , McCartney, G. , Reeves, A., Leyland, A. , Pearce, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2022) How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health, 7(6), e515-e528. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00058-5) (PMID:35660213) (PMCID:PMC7614874)

Tweed, E. J. et al. (2021) Health of people experiencing co-occurring homelessness, imprisonment, substance use, sex work and/or severe mental illness in high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(10), pp. 1010-1018. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-215975) (PMID:33893182) (PMCID:PMC8458085)

Kromydas, T. , Thomson, R. M. , Pulford, A., Green, M. J. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2021) Which is most important for mental health: money, poverty, or paid work? A fixed-effects analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. SSM - Population Health, 15, 100909. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100909) (PMID:34584931) (PMCID:PMC8455855)

Niedzwiedz, C. L. et al. (2021) Mental health and health behaviours before and during the initial phase of the COVID-19 lockdown: longitudinal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(3), pp. 224-231. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-215060) (PMID:32978210) (PMCID:PMC7892383)

Thomson, R. M. , Henderson, H. J. and Smith-Palmer, A. (2019) An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul in a Scottish childcare facility: the influence of parental under-reporting. BMC Infectious Diseases, 19, 847. (doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-4516-z) (PMID:31615435) (PMCID:PMC6794835)

Thomson, R. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2019) Improving the health of trans people: the need for good data. Lancet Public Health, 4(8), e369-e370. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30129-X) (PMID:31376853) (PMCID:PMC6894941)

Thomson, R. M. and Katikireddi, S. (2018) Mental health and the jilted generation: Using age-period-cohort analysis to assess differential trends in young people’s mental health following the great recession and austerity in England. Social Science and Medicine, 214, pp. 133-143. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.08.034) (PMID:30195100) (PMCID:PMC6176124)

Thomson, R. M. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2018) Trends in gender and socioeconomic inequalities in mental health following the Great Recession and subsequent austerity policies: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the Health Surveys for England. BMJ Open, 8(8), e022924. (doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022924) (PMID:30166307) (PMCID:PMC6119415)

Thomson, R. M. , Allely, C., Purves, D., Puckering, C., McConnachie, A. , Johnson, P. C.D., Golding, J., Gillberg, C. and Wilson, P. (2014) Predictors of positive and negative parenting behaviours: evidence from the ALSPAC cohort. BMC Pediatrics, 14, 247. (doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-14-247) (PMID:25280577) (PMCID:PMC4287514)

Research Reports or Papers

Burnett, D. et al. (2020) Protecting the health of the working-age population as lockdown reduces. [Research Reports or Papers]

Thomson, R. , Baker, J. and Arnot, J. (2018) Health Care Needs Assessment of Gender Identity Services. [Research Reports or Papers]

Conference or Workshop Item

Kromydas, T. , Green, M., Craig, P. , Katikireddi, S. V. , Leyland, A. H. , Niedzwiedz, C. L. , Pearce, A. , Thomson, R. M. and Demou, E. (2021) Population-level Changes in the Mental Health of UK Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study Using Understanding Society. Society for Social Medicine & Population Health 65th ASM, 15-17 Sep 2021.

Thomson, R. M. , Pearce, A. , Leyland, A. and Katikireddi, S. V. (2020) The Causal Effects of Transition into Poverty on Mental Health in the UK Working-Age Population. 16th World Congress on Public Health 2020: Public Health for the future of humanity: analysis, advocacy and action, 12-16 Oct 2020.

This list was generated on Wed Apr 30 07:30:22 2025 BST.

Grants

Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.

  • Developing a platform for evaluating a `Minimum Income Guarantee' policy and modelling major income supplementation reforms
    National Institute for Health Research
    2023 - 2024
     
  • Predicting the impacts of universal basic income on mental health inequalities in the UK population: a microsimulation model
    Wellcome Trust
    2019 - 2022
     

Professional activities & recognition

Prizes, awards & distinctions

  • 2018: Littlejohn Gairdner Prize for outstanding contribution to public health in Scotland (Faculty of Public Health)
  • 2017: Mackinlay Prize for MPH home student with highest average score (University of Glasgow)
  • 2017: Best Project Prize for MPH (University of Glasgow)

Research fellowships

  • 2019 - 2023: Wellcome Trust Research Award for Health Professionals

Dr Rachel Thomson on Twitter