Although research shows a strong positive association between perceived stress and loneliness, the genetic and environmental etiology underlying their association remains unknown. People with a genetic predisposition to perceived stress, for example, may be more prone to feeling lonely and vice versa. Conversely, unique factors in people’s lives may explain differences in perceived stress levels […]
Objective: Neighbourhood deprivation has been found to be associated with many health conditions, but its association with low back pain (LBP) and arthritis is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between neighbourhood deprivation with LBP and arthritis, and its potential interaction with individual socioeconomic status (SES) on these outcomes. Methods: Monozygotic (MZ) twins from the […]
The current study was designed to use an epigenome-wide association approach (EWAS) to identify potential systemic DNA methylation alterations that are associated with obesity using 22 discordant twin pairs. Buccal cells (from a cheek swab) were used as a non-obesity relevant purified marker cell for the epigenetic analysis. Analysis of differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs) […]
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is more likely to occur in people with a family history of this condition, highlighting the importance of accounting for familial factors when studying the individual risk of LBP. We conducted a study of opposite-sex twin pairs investigating sex differences in LBP while accounting for (genetic and shared environmental) familial […]
Objective: The evening (“night owl”) chronotype is associated with greater severity and lifetime prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms compared to morning or intermediate chronotypes. This twin study investigated the gene-environment relationships between chronotype, recent PTSD symptoms, and lifetime intrusive symptoms. Methods: We used the reduced Horne-Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) to assess chronotype in […]
We examined relationships between walkability and health behaviors between and within identical twin pairs, considering both home (neighborhood) walkability and each twin’s measured activity space. Continuous activity and location data (via accelerometry and GPS) were obtained in 79 pairs over 2 weeks. Walkability was estimated using Walk Score® (WS); home WS refers to neighborhood walkability, and […]
We examined relationships between walkability and health behaviors between and within identical twin pairs, considering both home (neighborhood) walkability and each twin’s measured activity space. Continuous activity and location data (via accelerometry and GPS) were obtained in 79 pairs over 2 weeks. Walkability was estimated using Walk Score® (WS); home WS refers to neighborhood walkability, and […]
Due to social distancing measures implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals are spending more time isolated at home with limited physical social interactions. The current study investigated whether marriage and/or cohabitation is associated with satisfaction with life and depression among 732 adult same-sex twin pairs (monozygotic and dizygotic) in the US using online survey […]
Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between lifestyle behaviours, emotional health factors, and low back pain (LBP) resilience. Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study utilised 1,065 twins with a recent history of LBP from the Washington State Twin Registry. A lifestyle behaviour score was built using variables of body mass index, physical activity engagement, sleep quality, smoking […]
An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) was performed on buccal cells from monozygotic-twins (MZ) reared together as children, but who live apart as adults. Cohorts of twin pairs were used to investigate associations between neighborhood walkability and objectively measured physical activity (PA) levels. Due to dramatic cellular epigenetic sex differences, male and female MZ twin pairs […]
Objectives: Physical activity is a cornerstone of chronic disease prevention and treatment, yet most US adults do not perform levels recommended for health. The neighborhood–built environment (BE) may support or hinder physical activity levels. This study investigated whether identical twins who reside in more walkable BEs have greater activity levels than twins who reside in […]
Background: Perceptions of the built environment, such as nature quality, beauty, relaxation, and safety, may be key factors linking the built environment to human health. However, few studies have examined these types of perceptions due to the difficulty in quantifying them objectively in large populations. Objective: To measure and predict perceptions of the built environment […]
Background: Environmental exposures are commonly estimated using spatial methods, with most epidemiological studies relying on home addresses. Passively collected smartphone location data, like Google Location History (GLH) data, may present an opportunity to integrate existing long-term time-activity data. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the potential use of GLH data for capturing long-term retrospective time-activity data […]
Background: Body mass index (BMI) shows strong continuity over childhood and adolescence and high childhood BMI is the strongest predictor of adult obesity. Genetic factors strongly contribute to this continuity, but it is still poorly known how their contribution changes over childhood and adolescence. Thus, we used the genetic twin design to estimate the genetic correlations […]
Background: Guidelines promoting healthy lifestyles are cornerstones of chronic disease prevention and treatment. The purpose of this study is to investigate independent and joint associations of five key health behaviors with health outcomes (body mass index (BMI kg/m2) and depressive symptoms) in adult twins. Methods: We included 6,048 twin pairs from a community-based registry. Five […]
It is unknown whether the built environment influences recovery from low back pain (LBP). Objective: To investigate whether neighbourhood walkability influences the recovery from LBP after adjusting for genetics and shared environmental factors. Study group: We conducted a longitudinal analysis of adult twins with LBP from the Washington State Twin Registry (average follow-up: 1.7 years). […]
Background: Physical distancing and other COVID-19 pandemic mitigation strategies have negatively impacted physical activity (PA) levels and mental health in cross-sectional studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between changes in PA and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, following implementation of mitigation strategies, in a sample of adult twins. Methods: […]
Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. […]
Background: Neuroimaging studies suggest that appetitive drive is enhanced in obesity. Objective: To test if appetitive drive varies in direct proportion to the level of body adiposity after accounting for genetic factors that contribute to both brain response and obesity risk. Subjects/Methods: Participants were adult monozygotic (n=54) and dizygotic (n=30) twins with at least one […]
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns have had a disproportionate impact on parents of children under 18, particularly women. Mandatory school closures and loss of childcare resulted in parents balancing work, teaching, and childcare needs. A number of studies have examined changes in mental health of parents, but to date no studies have compared the […]
