Nature Mental Health Corrects Reported Brain-Structure Estimates in Income-Inequality Study

Nature Mental Health has issued an author correction to a study examining macroeconomic income inequality, brain structure and mental health. The correction was published open access on 28 September 2026 and updates the article’s HTML and PDF versions.

The original research article, by Divyangana Rakesh, Dimitris I. Tsomokos, Teresa Vargas, Kate E. Pickett and Vikram Patel, was published online on 30 September 2025.

Three estimates were replaced

The correction concerns the article’s “Inequality and brain structure” section. It replaces the reported statistical values for overall cortical volume, average cortical thickness and total surface area.

• Overall cortical volume: the original beta value was −2.93, with a standard error of 0.49 and a t value of −6.04. The corrected beta is −0.058, with a standard error of 0.011 and a t value of −5.45.
• Average cortical thickness: the original beta value was −1.33, with a standard error of 0.55 and a t value of −2.41. The corrected beta is −0.071, with a standard error of 0.012 and a t value of −5.97.
• Total surface area: the original beta value was −2.99, with a standard error of 0.49 and a t value of −6.06. The corrected beta is −0.045, with a standard error of 0.011 and a t value of −4.28.

For all three measures, the corrected values are reported with P < 0.001. The correction does not, in the supplied notice, provide further details about how the original values were produced or what caused the error.

Why the update matters for readers

Statistical estimates are part of how research findings are interpreted and compared. Because the correction changes the reported beta values, standard errors and t values in this section, readers consulting the study should use the revised HTML or PDF rather than the initially published numbers.

The correction notice addresses the reported figures in the brain-structure analysis. The supplied information does not establish whether other parts of the study were changed, nor does it provide a revised summary of the article’s broader findings.

Publication record

Correspondence for the paper is directed to Divyangana Rakesh. The authors are affiliated with institutions including King’s College London, University College London, Harvard University, the University of York and Harvard Medical School.

For anyone reviewing or citing the research, the corrected publication record is the relevant version to consult.

AI tools were used to assist with the preparation of this article.