Longitudinal Data

A “longitudinal study” involves observing the same group of individuals over an extended period of time. This allows researchers to look at changes that occur over time. The Twin Registry is an ideal setting for researchers to perform longitudinal studies, since most of our members continue to participate in Registry studies.

All members of the Twin Registry fill out the Enrollment Survey when they join the Registry. Many twins have also responded to the Health Survey and/or the Health and Wellbeing Survey. Some of our questions appear on more than one survey. In the longitudinal data analyses described below, researchers analyzed the responses of the same group of twins at two different points in time. By studying the same group at two time points, researchers can see how twins may change over time, and better understand what may cause those changes.

Associations between changes in resilient coping and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

Sinclair VG, Adams SM, Dietrich M. The pervasive, damaging nature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents enormous clinical challenges. Understanding the relationship between patients’ perceptions of PTSD symptoms and resilient coping strategies may prompt investigation of clinical interventions that improve adaptive, resilient coping skills. In this study, we examined whether changes in resilient coping were […]

Familial factors predicting recovery and maintenance of physical activity in people with low back pain: insights from a population-based twin study

Zadro JR, Shirley D, Duncan GE, Ferreira PH. BACKGROUND It is unknown how familial factors influence the recovery from low back pain (LBP) and the maintenance activity behaviours. We aimed to investigate whether individual and within-family physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour influenced recovery from LBP, and maintenance of PA and sedentary behaviour in people […]

Age at dieting onset, body mass index, and dieting practices: A twin study

Enriquez E, Duncan GE, Schur E Using a twin study design, we sought to determine whether an early age at dieting onset is a risk factor for higher adult body mass index (BMI) or use of risky dieting practices, independent of genetic and familial factors. Female twins ages 18-60 years (N=950) from the University of Washington […]