Revisiting the Children-of-Twins Design: Improving Existing Models for the Exploration of Intergenerational Associations

TY - JOUR

T1 - Revisiting the Children-of-Twins Design

T2 - Improving Existing Models for the Exploration of Intergenerational Associations

AU - McAdams, Tom A.

AU - Hannigan, Laurie J.

AU - Eilertsen, Espen Moen

AU - Gjerde, Line C.

AU - Ystrom, Eivind

AU - Rijsdijk, Fruhling Vesta

PY - 2018/9

Y1 - 2018/9

N2 - Datasets comprising twins and their children can be a useful tool for understanding the nature of intergenerational associations between parent and offspring phenotypes. In the present article we explore structural equation models previously used to analyse Children-of-Twins data, highlighting some limitations and considerations. We then present new variants of these models, showing that extending the models to include multiple offspring per parent addresses several of the limitations discussed. Accompanying the updated models, we provide power calculations and demonstrate with application to simulated data. We then apply to intergenerational analyses of height and weight, using a sub-study of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort (MoBa); the Intergenerational Transmission of Risk (IToR) project, wherein all kinships in the MoBa data have been identified (a children-of-twins-and-siblings study). Finally, we consider how to interpret the findings of these models and discuss future directions.Keywords

AB - Datasets comprising twins and their children can be a useful tool for understanding the nature of intergenerational associations between parent and offspring phenotypes. In the present article we explore structural equation models previously used to analyse Children-of-Twins data, highlighting some limitations and considerations. We then present new variants of these models, showing that extending the models to include multiple offspring per parent addresses several of the limitations discussed. Accompanying the updated models, we provide power calculations and demonstrate with application to simulated data. We then apply to intergenerational analyses of height and weight, using a sub-study of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort (MoBa); the Intergenerational Transmission of Risk (IToR) project, wherein all kinships in the MoBa data have been identified (a children-of-twins-and-siblings study). Finally, we consider how to interpret the findings of these models and discuss future directions.Keywords

U2 - 10.1007/s10519-018-9912-4

DO - 10.1007/s10519-018-9912-4

M3 - Article

SN - 0001-8244

VL - 48

SP - 397

EP - 412

JO - Behavior Genetics

JF - Behavior Genetics

IS - 5

ER -