Medda Emanuela, Toccaceli Virgilia, Fagnani Corrado, Nisticò Lorenza, Brescianini Sonia, Salemi Miriam, Ferri Maurizio, D'Ippolito Cristina, Alviti Sabrina, Arnofi Antonio, Stazi Maria Antonietta
Reference Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Twin Res Hum Genet. 2019 Dec;22(6):572-578. doi: 10.1017/thg.2019.75. Epub 2019 Sep 26.
The Italian Twin Registry (ITR), established in 2001, is a population-based registry of voluntary twins. To date, it consists of approximately 29,000 twins who gave their consent to participate in the studies proposed by the ITR research group. The database comprises 11,500 monozygotic and 16,700 dizygotic twins resident throughout the country and belonging to a wide age range (from 0 to 95 years, mean 36.8 years). This article provides an overview of the recruitment strategies along with the major phenotypes investigated during an 18 years' research period. Over the years, several self-reported questionnaire data were collected, together with saliva/blood samples and measurements taken during in-person interviews or outpatient clinical examinations. Mental and behavioral phenotypes as well as atherosclerotic traits were studied in depth across different age groups. A birth cohort of twins was established and followed up. Novel research hypotheses are also being tested in ongoing projects. The ITR is involved in international studies in collaboration with other twin registries and represents a valuable resource for national and international research initiatives regarding a broad spectrum of health-related characteristics.
意大利双胞胎登记处（ITR）成立于2001年，是一个基于人群的自愿双胞胎登记处。截至目前，它由大约29000对双胞胎组成，这些双胞胎同意参与ITR研究小组提出的研究。该数据库包含11500对同卵双胞胎和16700对异卵双胞胎，他们居住在全国各地，年龄范围广泛（从0岁到95岁，平均36.8岁）。本文概述了招募策略以及在18年研究期间所调查的主要表型。多年来，收集了几份自我报告的问卷数据，以及唾液/血液样本和在面对面访谈或门诊临床检查期间进行的测量数据。对不同年龄组的心理和行为表型以及动脉粥样硬化特征进行了深入研究。建立了一个双胞胎出生队列并进行随访。新的研究假设也正在正在进行的项目中进行测试。ITR与其他双胞胎登记处合作参与国际研究，是国家和国际关于广泛健康相关特征研究倡议的宝贵资源。
