			Home About us Contact

Swedish Twin Registry (swedish + twin_registry)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Genetic Probes of Three Theories of Maternal Adjustment: II.

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2001
Environmental Influences, Genetic
This is the first report of the Twin Mom Study, an investigation of three hypotheses concerning influences on maternal adjustment. These hypotheses concern the role of the marital and parent-child relationships in mediating genetic influences on maternal adjustment and on the importance of the mothers' marital partners as a specifiable source of influences on their adjustment not shared with their sisters. The study's sample of 150 monozygotic (MZ) twins and 176 dizygotic (DZ) twins was drawn randomly from the Swedish Twin Registry and is, with some small exceptions, likely to be representative of women in the Swedish population. The sample included the marital partners of these twins and their adolescent children. Self-report and coded videotapes were a source of information about family process. Results reported in this first report focus on comparability of American and Swedish samples on scales measuring psychiatric symptoms, and on an analysis of genetic and environmental influences on nine measures of mothers' adjustment. Results suggest comparability between the US and Sweden. Genetic influences were found for all measures of adjustment, particularly in the psychological manifestations of anxiety and for smoking. The pattern of findings also underscored the importance of influences unique to each sibling within the twin pair, thus focusing attention on the potential role of marital partners in maternal adjustment. Results also suggested that experiences shared by the twin sisters, experiences unrelated to their genetic similarity, may influence their fearfulness and alcohol consumption. Our model did not include these influences and thus must be amended. [source]

Lifetime Prevalence and Characteristics of Recurrent Primary Headaches in a Population-Based Sample of Swedish Twins

HEADACHE, Issue 8 2002
Dan A. Svensson MSc
Objective.,To examine the lifetime prevalence and other characteristics of recurrent primary headaches in twins. Background.,The twin model may provide insights into the role of genetic and environmental influences in headache disorders. However, assumptions as to whether twins are representative of the general population, and whether monozygotic and dizygotic twins are similar have rarely been addressed. Methods.,The study population consisted of a random sample of 17- to 82-year-old twins from the Swedish Twin Registry (n = 1329). Structured interviews on the telephone by lay personnel and the International Headache Society criteria were used for assessment and diagnosis of recurrent primary headaches. Prevalence data of the general population for migraine and tension-type headache was obtained from various published reports. Results.,A total of 372 subjects (29%) had ever had recurrent headaches. In total, 241 recurrent headache sufferers fulfilled the criteria for migraine or tension-type headache, and the lifetime prevalence was 7.1% for migraine without aura, 1.4% for migraine always with aura, 1.9% for migraine occasionally with aura, 9.4% for episodic tension-type headache, and 1.3% for chronic tension-type headache. The lifetime prevalence of all migraine and all tension-type headache, including another 84 subjects fulfilling all but one of the criteria for migraine or tension-type headache, was 13.8% and 13.5%, respectively. The corresponding prevalence risk for women was 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7, 3.4) and 1.5 (95% CI 1.1, 2.1), respectively. Zygosity was not a significant predictor for migraine. In tension-type headache, the prevalence risk for dizygotic twins and unlike-sexed twins as compared with monozygotic twins was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.1) and 1.8 (95% CI: 1.1, 2.9), respectively. Conclusion.,There is no twin-singleton or monozygotic-dizygotic difference for the risk of migraine. In tension-type headache, twins seem to have a lower risk than singletons, and this is especially true for monozygotic twins. [source]

Use of snus and risk for cardiovascular disease: results from the Swedish Twin Registry

JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009
J. Hansson
Abstract. Objective. To study the association between snus use and the risk for cardiovascular disease, i.e. ischemic heart disease and stroke. Design. Cohort study. Setting. Sweden. Subjects. Sixteen thousand six hundred and forty-two male Swedish twins participating in the Screening Across the Lifespan Twin Study, conducted in 1998,2002, were followed for incident cardiovascular disease. Participants were without a history of cardiovascular disease at baseline and incident cases were identified via the Swedish Cause of Death Register and Hospital Discharge Register. Results. Overall, there was no association between use of snus and risk for cardiovascular disease. Current snus users, without a smoking history, had a relative risk of 1.00 (95% confidence interval 0.69,1.46) for cardiovascular disease as compared to non users. Corresponding relative risks for ischemic heart disease and stroke were 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.51,1.41) and 1.18 (95% confidence interval 0.67,2.08), respectively. In smoking adjusted models, risk estimates for ischemic heart disease in relation to snus use were all close to unity regardless of timing or intensity of snus use. However, current heavy snus users (consuming more than four cans week,1) had a relative risk for stroke of 1.75 (95% confidence interval 0.95,3.21). Conclusion. These data do not support any strong association between snus use and risk for cardiovascular disease. [source]

Epidemiology of cancer-related fatigue in the Swedish twin registry

CANCER, Issue 9 2005
M.P.H., Michael J. Forlenza Ph.D.
Abstract BACKGROUND Estimates of the prevalence of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) are wide, and data suggest that fatigue is more prevalent among cancer patients than among the general population. However, most studies examining the prevalence of CRF have been hospital-based or clinic-based studies, which often are subject to bias. METHODS Point prevalence and prevalence odds ratios of fatigue were estimated using data from a large, population-based cohort that was screened for fatigue and linked with national registry-based data about cancer. Prevalence odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression with general estimating equations. RESULTS Approximately 23% of cancer registrants reported abnormal fatigue in the previous 6 months, 19% reported abnormal fatigue that lasted for at least 1 month, 14% reported abnormal fatigue that lasted at least 6 months, and 11% reported abnormal fatigue that lasted at least 6 months and caused significant functional impairment. Individuals who were listed in the cancer registry within the last 5 years were more likely to report experiencing fatigue than individuals who were not listed. There was an elevated prevalence of fatigue among those who were registered with carcinomas of the lung, uterine cervix, colon-rectum, ovaries, and prostate. Both women and men who were listed recently in the cancer registry were more likely to experience any level of fatigue than the comparison group. However, a greater proportion of women experienced fatigue relative to men. CONCLUSIONS A greater proportion of individuals who were listed in a national cancer registry reported experiencing fatigue compared with individuals in the general population. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society. [source]