Rate My Professor Bo Melin

Bo Melin is Professor of Work Psychology at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, where he was appointed in 2007 and holds a senior professor position. He earned his Docent title from Stockholm University in 1997. Leading the Cognitive Epidemiology research group, Melin's work investigates causal relationships between cognitive and emotional abilities and their links to health outcomes, mortality, and social mobility within a biopsychosocial framework. His research demonstrates that cognitive ability, measured by psychometric IQ tests, is a strong predictor of various health outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, mortality from violent causes, and alcohol-related mortality. A pronounced gradient in mortality risk exists across IQ score groups, with risks increasing from high to low scores over 30 years of follow-up. Adjustments for socioeconomic position and poverty attenuate but do not eliminate this gradient. Emotional abilities, such as low neuroticism and high extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, are associated with longer life, while high neuroticism relates to higher mortality risks. Risks from psychological factors can be modified by interactions between cognitive and emotional abilities. Melin's ongoing projects explore stress, work, and health, including increased stress from new mental tasks and cognitive-emotional abilities in relation to health.

Melin's influential publications span psychophysiology, stress, and cognitive epidemiology. Highly cited works include 'Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe 2010' (2011, 2574 citations), 'Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white-collar workers' (1989, 592 citations), 'Psychophysiological stress and EMG activity of the trapezius muscle' (1994, 562 citations), 'Influences of variations in body hydration on cognitive function: Effect of hyperhydration, heat stress, and exercise-induced dehydration' (2000, 416 citations), and 'The role of muscle activity and mental load in the development of pain and degenerative processes at the muscle cell level during computer work' (2000, 390 citations). Recent contributions critique methodological approaches in longitudinal studies, such as 'Questionable prospective associations between mindfulness and mental health problems: A simulated multiverse reanalysis and comment on Ma et al. (2026)' (2026) and 'Prospective effects of mindfulness on anxiety and depressive symptoms may be spurious: Simulated reanalysis of a meta-analytic cross-lagged panel analysis' (2024). His research interests include cognitive and emotional capacity, stress, and cystic fibrosis.