Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-03T08:38:05.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

PennTwins: A Population-Based Cohort for Twin Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Emil F. Coccaro*
Affiliation:
Clinical Neuroscience & Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, United States of America. ecoccaro@yoda.bsd.uchicago.edu
Kristen C. Jacobson
Affiliation:
Clinical Neuroscience & Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, United States of America.
*
*Address for correspondence: Emil F. Coccaro, Department of Psychiatry MC#3077, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The current article describes the creation and composition of the PennTwins Cohort and provides details on the demographic characteristics of the sample. The PennTwins Cohort was developed using a population-based method of ascertainment and currently has 9401 28- to 47-year-old twins, including 2225 confirmed twin pairs and 4951 twins whose co-twins have not yet registered. Zygosity data have been used to identify 919 monozygotic, 634 same-sex dizygotic, and 445 opposite-sex dizygotic pairs. GeoCode data on gender, age, and certain demographic characteristics were obtained for the addresses of all twins who were mailed invitations to be part of the cohort. Analysis of the available data show only very small differences between twins who are currently part of the PennTwins Cohort and potential twins who either did not respond to recruitment or who could not be located. Similarly, only very small demographic differences exist between twins from complete pairs and twins whose co-twins are not yet registered, and there are no differences across zygosity. Thus, despite a relatively low overall response rate (12% of all twins born in Pennsylvania from 1959–1978), there is no evidence that the sample differs in any meaningful respect from the larger population.

Type
Articles/United States of America
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006