Work

Defining discordance in twin studies of risk and protective factors for late life disorders

Year: 2000

Type: article

Abstract: In studies that employ matched pair analysis to identify environmental exposures important for a disorder, criteria for discordant pairs are seldom discussed. Yet several assumptions concerning the definition of discordancy may have considerable influence over what results are found. Problems are exacerbated when age of onset for a disorder is late in life. We propose a new set of criteria for defining discordant pairs in studies of dementia, taking into account duration of discordance and competing causes of mortality, and evaluate the consequences of choosing alternative definitions of discordancy.

Source: Twin Research

DOI: 10.1375/136905200320565445

Authors: Margaret Gatz, Nancy L Pedersen, Michael Crowe, Amy Fiske

Institutions: University of Southern California, Karolinska Institutet

Language: English

Topic: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Institute on Aging