Jelenkovic A, Craig JM, Sumathipala A, Harden KP, Cozen W, Mack TM, Hopper JL, Duncan GE, Buchwald D, Sung J, Harris JR, Busjahn A, Goldberg JH, Kaprio J, Silventoinen K, et al. A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference […]
Wrede JE, Mengel-From J, Buchwald D, Vitiello MV, Bamshad M, Noonan C, Christiansen L, Christensen K, Watson NF Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is an important component of mitochondrial function and varies with age, disease, and environmental factors. We aimed to determine whether mtDNA copy number varies with habitual differences in sleep duration within pairs […]
Bosch TA, Chow L, Dengel DR, Melhorn SJ, Webb M, Yancey D, Callahan H, De Leon MRB, Tyagi V, Schur EA We recently reported sex-specific percent body fat (%BF) thresholds (males = 23%, females = 38%) above which, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) significantly increases. Using monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, we examined the influence of genetics on regional […]
Cohen-Cline H, Lau R, Moudon AV, Turkheimer E, Duncan GE Obesity is a substantial health problem in the United States, and is associated with many chronic diseases. Previous studies have linked poor dietary habits to obesity. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the association between body mass index (BMI) and fast-food consumption among 669 same-sex […]
The Cohort Description of Collaborative Project of Development of Anthropometrical Measures in Twins to Study Macro-Environmental Variation in Genetic and Environmental Effects on Anthropometric Traits Silventoinen K, Craig JM, Sumathipala A, Harden KP, Cozen W, Mack TM, Hopper JL, Duncan GE, Buchwald D, Sung J, Harris JR, Busjahn A, Goldberg JH, Kaprio J, et al. […]
Horn EE, Turkheimer E, Strachan E, Duncan GE Body mass index (BMI) has a strong genetic basis, with a heritability around 0.75, but is also influenced by numerous behavioral and environmental factors. Aspects of the built environment (e.g., environmental walkability) are hypothesized to influence obesity by directly affecting BMI, by facilitating or inhibiting behaviors such […]
Cohen-Cline H, Turkheimer E, Duncan GE Increasing global urbanisation has resulted in a greater proportion of the world’s population becoming exposed to risk factors unique to urban areas, and understanding these effects on public health is essential. The aim of this study was to examine the association between access to green space and mental health […]
Trost Z, Strachan E, Sullivan M, Vervoort T, Avery AR, Afari N This study used a twin paradigm to examine genetic and environmental contributions to pain catastrophizing and the observed association between pain catastrophizing and cold-pressor task (CPT) outcomes. Male and female monozygotic (n = 206) and dizygotic twins (n = 194) from the University […]
Duncan GE, Cash SW, Horn EE, Turkheimer E Physical activity, neighborhood walkability, and body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) associations were tested using quasi-experimental twin methods. We hypothesized that physical activity and walkability were independently associated with BMI within twin pairs, controlling for genetic and environmental background shared between them. Data were from 6376 (64% female; 58% […]
Strachan E, Poeschla B, Dansie E, Succop A, Chopko L, Afari N Pain is a complex phenomenon influenced by context and person-specific factors. Affective dimensions of pain involve both enduring personality traits and fleeting emotional states. We examined how personality traits and emotional states are linked with clinical and evoked pain in a twin sample. 99 […]
