Search results for "twin study"

Genetic influences on adult body mass index followed over 29 years and their effects on late-life mobility: a study of twin sisters.

2009

Background: The rise in body mass index (BMI) during adulthood increases the risk for metabolic disorders, functional limitations and disability in old age. This twin study examined prospectively whether genetic and environmental influences on women’s BMI also account for mobility 29 years later. Methods: The sample consisted of 103 monozygotic and 114 dizygotic pairs of twin sisters reared together. Body mass index was initially evaluated in 1975, when the women were aged 42.6±3.4 years, and was followed-up in 1981, 1990, 2001 and 2004. Mobility was evaluated using the standardised 6-minute walking test in 2001, when the women were aged 68.6±3.2 years, and followed-up 3 years later. An inv…

A longitudinal study on genetic and environmental influences on leisure time physical activity in the Finnish Twin Cohort.

2010

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to leisure time physical activity among male and female twins over a 6-year follow-up. At baseline the sample comprised 4,280 monozygotic and 9,276 dizygotic twin individuals, and at follow-up 4,383 monozygotic and 9,439 dizygotic twin individuals. Participants were aged 18–54 years at baseline. Genetic modeling results showed that genetic influences on leisure time physical activity declined from baseline (44%) to follow-up (34%). Most of the genetic influences identified at baseline were present at followup (rg= 0.72). Specific environmental influences increased from baseline (56%)…

Effects of 32-year leisure time physical activity discordance in twin pairs on health (TWINACTIVE study): aims, design and results for physical fitne…

2009

AbstractThe physically active lifestyle is associated with low future morbidity and mortality, but the causality between physical activity and health is not always clear. As some inherited biological characteristics and childhood experiences may cause selection bias in observational studies, we sought to take them into account by identifying 16 twin pairs (7 MZ, 9 DZ, mean age 60 years) discordant for leisure time physical activity habits for thirty years. We conducted detailed health-related examinations among these twin pairs. Our main aims were to study the effects of physical activity and genes on fitness and body composition, with special reference to body fat compartments, metabolic s…

Effect of physical activity on health in twins: a 30-yr longitudinal study.

2010

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether persistent leisure-time physical activity, adjusted for genetic liability and childhood experiences, protects against chronic diseases, early signs of disability, and loss of life satisfaction. Methods: From 5663 healthy adult twin pairs, we identified 146 pairs who were discordant for both intensity and volume of leisure physical activity in 1975 and 1981. Of them, both members of 95 pairs were alive and participated in our follow-up study in 2005 when chronic diseases (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoarthritis), life satisfaction, and disability were assessed by a structured telephone interview. The mean age of t…

Associations between sports participation, cardiorespiratory fitness, and adiposity in young adult twins.

2011

Exercise behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, and obesity are strongly influenced by genetic factors. By studying young adult twins, we examined to what extent these interrelated traits have shared genetic and environmental etiologies. We studied 304 twin individuals selected from the population-based FinnTwin16 study. Physical activity was assessed with the Baecke questionnaire, yielding three indexes: sport index, leisure-time index, and work index. In this study, we focused on sport index, which describes sports participation. Body composition was determined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and cardiorespiratory fitness using a bicycle ergometer exercise test with gas exchange ana…

Genetic effects on life-space mobility in older women.

2013

Finnish Twin Research in the 1930s: Contributions of Arvo Lehtovaara and His Mentor, Eino Kaila.

2016

We offer a brief sketch of an overlooked early twin researcher, Arvo Johannes Lehtovaara (1905–1985), Professor of Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, 1939–1952, and the University of Helsinki, 1952–1970, with background notes on his mentor, Eino Kaila.

Midlife Physical Activity and Cognition Later in Life : A Prospective Twin Study

2016

Background: Physical activity has been associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline but the nature of this association remains obscure. Objective: To study associations between midlife physical activity and cognition in old age for a prospective cohort of Finnish twins. Methods: Physical activity in the Finnish Twin Cohort was assessed using questionnaire responses collected in 1975 and 1981. After a mean follow-up of 25.1 years, the subjects' (n = 3050; mean age 74.2; range 66-97) cognition was evaluated with a validated telephone interview. Both participation in vigorous physical activity, and the volume of physical activity, divided into quintiles, were used as predictors of cogni…

The Relationship Between Sleep Characteristics and Unmet Physical Activity Need in Older Women

2018

Objective: We examined among older women the association of sleep quality, daytime tiredness, and sleep duration with unmet physical activity need, that is, wishing to be more physically active but perceiving no opportunity for it. Method: Cross-sectional logistic regression analyses among women aged 74 to 86 years (Finnish Twin Study on Aging, third wave, n = 302). Results: Thirty-one participants reported unmet physical activity need. Short sleepers had fivefold and long sleepers threefold odds for unmet physical activity need compared with normative sleepers, while for daytime tiredness the odds were double. Presence of daytime tiredness and unmet physical activity coincided with higher…

Heritability of Lung Function: A Twin Study Among Never-Smoking Elderly Women

2011

Most studies on lung function heritability have been conducted in smokers and non-smokers using cross-sectional study design. Smoking patterns may, however, confound the contribution of genetic factors. We investigated heritability of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC ratio longitudinally, excluding the effects of smoking. A sample of never smoking female twins (n = 374), aged 63–76 at baseline, answered health questionnaires and attended spirometry in years 2000 and 2003. Bivariate structural equation modeling, restricted to adequate spirometry performances (baseline n = 339, follow-up n = 252), was used to estimate genetic and environ…