Twins Eye Study in Tasmania (TEST): Rationale and Methodology to Recruit and Examine Twins

David A. Mackey, Jane R. MacKinnon, Shayne A. Brown, Lisa S. Kearns, Jonathan B. Ruddle, Paul G. Sanfilippo, Cong Sun, Christopher J. Hammond, Terri L. Young, Nicholas G. Martin and Alex W. Hewitt (2009) Twins Eye Study in Tasmania (TEST): Rationale and Methodology to Recruit and Examine Twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 12 5: 441-454.


Author David A. Mackey
Jane R. MacKinnon
Shayne A. Brown
Lisa S. Kearns
Jonathan B. Ruddle
Paul G. Sanfilippo
Cong Sun
Christopher J. Hammond
Terri L. Young
Nicholas G. Martin
Alex W. Hewitt
Title Twins Eye Study in Tasmania (TEST): Rationale and Methodology to Recruit and Examine Twins
Formatted title Twins Eye Study in Tasmania (TEST): Rationale and Methodology to Recruit and Examine Twins
Journal name Twin Research and Human Genetics  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank B)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2009-10
Sub-type Article
Year available 2009
DOI 10.1375/twin.12.5.441
Volume number 12
Issue number 5
ISSN 1832-4274
Start page 441
End page 454
Total pages 14
Editor Katherine M Kirk
Nicholas G Martin
Place of publication Australia
Publisher Australian Academic Press Pty. Ltd.
Collection year 2010
Language eng
Subject C1
Abstract Visual impairment is a leading cause of morbidity and poor quality of life in our community. Unravelling the mechanisms underpinning important blinding diseases could allow preventative or curative steps to be implemented. Twin siblings provide a unique opportunity in biology to discover genes associated with numerous eye diseases and ocular biometry. Twins are particularly useful for quantitative trait analysis through genome-wide association and linkage studies. Although many studies involving twins rely on twin registries, we present our approach to the Twins Eye Study in Tasmania to provide insight into possible recruitment strategies, expected participation rates and potential examination strategies that can be considered by other researchers for similar studies. Five separate avenues for cohort recruitment were adopted: (1) piggy-backing existing studies where twins had been recruited, (2) utilizing the national twin registry, (3) word-of-mouth and local media publicity, (4) directly approaching schools, and finally (5) collaborating with other research groups studying twins.
Formatted abstract Visual impairment is a leading cause of morbidity and poor quality of life in our community. Unravelling the mechanisms underpinning important blinding diseases could allow preventative or curative steps to be implemented. Twin siblings provide a unique opportunity in biology to discover genes associated with numerous eye diseases and ocular biometry. Twins are particularly useful for quantitative trait analysis through genome-wide association and linkage studies. Although many studies involving twins rely on twin registries, we present our approach to the Twins Eye Study in Tasmania to provide insight into possible recruitment strategies, expected participation rates and potential examination strategies that can be considered by other researchers for similar studies. Five separate avenues for cohort recruitment were adopted: (1) piggy-backing existing studies where twins had been recruited, (2) utilizing the national twin registry, (3) word-of-mouth and local media publicity, (4) directly approaching schools, and finally (5) collaborating with other research groups studying twins.

Visual impairment is a leading cause of morbidity and poor quality of life in our community. Unravelling the mechanisms underpinning important blinding diseases could allow preventative or curative steps to be implemented. Twin siblings provide a unique opportunity in biology to discover genes associated with numerous eye diseases and ocular biometry. Twins are particularly useful for quantitative trait analysis through genome-wide association and linkage studies. Although many studies involving twins rely on twin registries, we present our approach to the Twins Eye Study in Tasmania to provide insight into possible recruitment strategies, expected participation rates and potential examination strategies that can be considered by other researchers for similar studies. Five separate avenues for cohort recruitment were adopted: (1) piggy-backing existing studies where twins had been recruited, (2) utilizing the national twin registry, (3) word-of-mouth and local media publicity, (4) directly approaching schools, and finally (5) collaborating with other research groups studying twins.

Author(s): David A. Mackey 1 * | Jane R. MacKinnon 2 | Shayne A. Brown 3 | Lisa S. Kearns 4 | Jonathan B. Ruddle 5 | Paul G. Sanfilippo 6 | Cong Sun 7 | Christopher J. Hammond 8 | Terri L. Young 9 | Nicholas G. Martin 10 | Alex W. Hewitt 11
Keyword ophthalmology
genome-wide association
genetics
myopia
glaucoma
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: 2010 Higher Education Research Data Collection
School of Medicine Publications
 
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Created: Mon, 29 Mar 2010, 12:20:12 EST by Amanda Jones on behalf of Medicine - Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital