The Value of Twins for Health and Medical Research: A Third of a Century of Progress
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In 1984, Hrubec and Robinette published what was arguably the first review of the role of twins in medical research. The authors acknowledged a growing distinction between two categories of twin studies: those aimed at assessing genetic contributions to disease and those aimed at assessing environmental contributions while controlling for genetic variation. They concluded with a brief section on recently founded twin registries that had begun to provide unprecedented access to twins for medical research. Here we offer an overview of the twin research that, in our estimation, best represents the field has progress since 1984. We start by summarizing what we know about twinning. We then focus on the value of twin study designs to differentiate between genetic and environmental influences on health and on emerging applications of twins in multiple areas of medical research. We finish by describing how twin registries and networks are accelerating twin research worldwide.
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Using identical twins provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of a dietary intervention while controlling for genetic and environmental factors.
“Novel to this study was our population of identical twins, a valuable resource in scientific research that provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of a dietary intervention while controlling for genetic and environmental factors,40 influences that can significantly impact health outcomes, including body weight, cardiovascular health, and metabolic function.40,41”
From Cardiometabolic Effects of Omnivorous vs Vegan Diets in Identical Twins: A Randomized Clinical Trial (2023) · cites this paper as [40]
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Self-citationContrasting painless and painful phenotypes of pediatric restless legs syndrome: a twin family study
Champion, G. D., Bui, M., Aouad, P., Sarraf, S., Donnelly, T. J., Bott, A., Chapman, C., Goh, S., Ng, G., Jaaniste, T., et al. (2020) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2020.08.024 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Genetic and environment influences on childhood victimization: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Dahoun, T., Peel, A., Baldwin, J., Coleman, O., Lewis, S. J., Wertz, J., Rijsdijk, F. V., & Danese, A. (2024) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-024-02868-z · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Familial and Genetic Influences on the Common Pediatric Primary Pain Disorders: A Twin Family Study
Champion, G. D., Bui, M., Bott, A., Donnelly, T. J., Goh, S., Chapman, C., Lemberg, D. A., Jaaniste, T., & Hopper, J. L. (2021) · Children · doi:10.3390/children8020089 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Fasola, S., Montalbano, L., Cilluffo, G., Cuer, B., Malizia, V., Ferrante, G., Annesi‐Maesano, I., & Grutta, S. L. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182312696 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Yelland, L. N., Scurrah, K. J., Ferreira, P. H., Calais‐Ferreira, L., Rankin, M., Denton, J., Harvey, M., Lee, K. J., Kendal, E. S., & Craig, J. M. (2021) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1017/thg.2021.52 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationMa, Y., Liu, H., & Shi, L. (2023) · Asian Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.asjsur.2023.09.113 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Improved definition of growing pains: A common familial primary pain disorder of early childhood
Champion, G. D., Bui, M., Sarraf, S., Donnelly, T. J., Bott, A., Goh, S., Jaaniste, T., & Hopper, J. L. (2022) · Paediatric and Neonatal Pain · doi:10.1002/pne2.12079 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Champion, G. D., Bui, M., Aouad, P., Teng, A. Y., Walters, A. S., Karroum, E. G., Tan, A., Yang, Z., Joyce, E., & Jaaniste, T. (2025) · Journal of Pain Research · doi:10.2147/jpr.s497122 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dhar, R., Rana, S., Srivastava, T. P., Nayek, A., Sharma, J. B., Kaur, D., Kalari, K. R., Singh, H., & Karmakar, S. (2022) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1017/thg.2022.24 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Are SADI-S and BPD/DS bariatric procedures identical twins or distant relatives? – A case report
Guimarães, M., Pereira, A. M., Pereira, S. S., Almeida, R., Lobato, C. B., Hartmann, B., Holst, J. J., Nora, M. C., & Monteiro, M. P. (2023) · Obesity Research & Clinical Practice · doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2023.02.004 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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Advanced molecular techniques in distinguishing monozygotic twins for forensic applications
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Concomitant Coronary Artery Disease in Identical Twins: Case Report and Systematic Literature Review
Kamzolas, O., Papazoglou, Α. S., Gemousakakis, E., Moysidis, D. V., Kyriakoulis, K. G., Brilakis, E. S., & Milkas, A. N. (2023) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm12175742 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
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Role of Human Twin Studies to Identify Genetic Linkage of Malaria Pathogenesis and Outcomes
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Twin Phenomena of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Reported Case Series
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Opposite-sex twins in medical research
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Self-citationCollaborative Learning Technologies in Teaching Preschool Twins
Kuzmina, A. S., & Praizendorf, E. S. (2022) · Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice · doi:10.33423/jhetp.v22i14.5540
Maximising the Value of Twin Studies in Health and BehaviourPreprint
Hagenbeek, F. A., Hirzinger, J. S., Breunig, S., Bruins, S., Kuznetsov, D. V., Schut, K., Odintsova, V. V., & Boomsma, D. I. (2022) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/rne4s
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Case Study of Manak Salah Pregnancy in Bali
Darmayasa, I. M., Setiawan, W. A., Megada, A. A. G. A. S., & Yanti, N. M. A. N. (2023) · European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences · doi:10.24018/ejmed.2023.5.5.1711
Physical Activity and Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: A Within-pair Twin StudyPreprint
Caruana, J. M., Young, J. T., Tyler, J., Ferreira, P. H., Malta, S., Hopper, J. L., & Calais‐Ferreira, L. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3489213/v2
Self-citationPhysical Activity and Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: A Within-pair Twin StudyPreprint
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Self-citationMental disorders and discrimination: A prospective cohort study of young twin pairs in Germany
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Self-citationPhysical activity and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: A twin study
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Self-citationCirugía de bypass gástrico y seguimiento en gemelas monocigóticas
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Twin studies, biobanks, and genome engineering to enable long-duration spaceflight
Mason, C. E., Beheshti, A., & West, B. F. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-13850-8.00004-x
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Navigating Twin Registers: The Shared Experiences of Established Registers and Investigators
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Twins: Behavioral Genetics and Psychology
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Within-pair analysis of monozygotic twins after bariatric surgery: a systematic review
Thorpe, B., Baltar, J., Santos, F., & González, P. P. (2026) · Obesity Surgery · doi:10.1007/s11695-026-08730-1
Twin-Based Randomized Controlled Trials in Nutritional Research: A Scoping Review
Shahamati, D., Nguyen, J., & Landry, M. J. (2026) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1017/thg.2026.10074
- Authors
- Craig, J. M., Calais-Ferreira, L., Umstad, M. P., & Buchwald, D.
- Affiliations
- Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
- Royal Women's Hospital (AU)
- Washington State University Spokane (US)
- Corresponding author
- Craig, Jeffrey M.
- Venue
- Twin Research and Human Genetics
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2020-01-27
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 8-15
- ISSN
- 1832-4274 (ISSN-L)
- 1839-2628
- OpenAlex
- W3000909579
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 1.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Twin Research and Human Genetics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Research Institute
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- State Government of Victoria
- Ministério da Educação
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council (1011070, 1079102, 1083779)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Assisted Reproductive Technology and Twin Pregnancy
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- twins, twin studies, twin registry, environmental determinants of health, twinning, Siamese network
- MeSH terms
- Diseases in Twins, Female, Humans, Male, Registries, Stem Cells, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic, Twin Studies as Topic, Biomedical Research, Epigenesis, Genetic, Gene-Environment Interaction, Microbiota
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