Abstract
The older Finnish Twin Cohort (FTC) was established in 1974. The baseline survey was in 1975, with two follow-up health surveys in 1981 and 1990. The fourth wave of assessments was done in three parts, with a questionnaire study of twins born during 1945-1957 in 2011-2012, while older twins were interviewed and screened for dementia in two time periods, between 1999 and 2007 for twins born before 1938 and between 2013 and 2017 for twins born in 1938-1944. The content of these wave 4 assessments is described and some initial results are described. In addition, we have invited twin-pairs, based on response to the cohortwide surveys, to participate in detailed in-person studies; these are described briefly together with key results. We also review other projects based on the older FTC and provide information on the biobanking of biosamples and related phenotypes.
Highlights
The older Finnish Twin Cohort (FTC) was established 45 years ago and has been described extensively in prior reviews (Kaprio, 2006, 2013; Kaprio & Koskenvuo, 2002)
We found that this had acceptably high validity when measured by health professionals in the Epigenetics of Hypertension study (Tuomela et al, in press)
We identified 13 novel CpG methylation sites and one new gene, MOK with its expression associated with BP, and replicated several previously identified signals in both gene expression and DNA methylation level
Summary
Earlier questionnaires were mailed in 1975 and 1981 to all twins born before 1958 and living in Finland, identified from the population register of Finland; the 1990 third-wave questionnaire was targeted to twins born in 1930–1957 who had responded to either earlier questionnaire. Numbers and details are shown in the first three rows of Table 1. The fourth wave of cohortwide data collection has been conducted in three separate phases and with separate data collection methods. We invited the participation of twins based on their birth years (those born before 1938, 1938–1944 and 1945–1957) for studies conducted between 1999 and 2017. Selected subsets of twins have been approached for more intensive clinical studies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
