The Norwegian Twin Registry from a Public Health Perspective: A Research Update

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Nilsen ◽  
Gun Peggy Knudsen ◽  
Kristina Gervin ◽  
Ingunn Brandt ◽  
Espen Røysamb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Record Linkage ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Twin Data ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Twin Research ◽  
Twin Registry ◽  
Large Program

We describe the importance of the Norwegian Twin Registry (NTR) for research in public health and provide examples from several programs of twin research at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), including the Nordic Twin Study of Cancer, our epigenetics platform, and our large program of research in mental health. The NTR has become an integral component of a national strategy for maximizing the research potential from Norwegian registries and biobank-based studies. The information provided herein builds upon and complements our recent report describing the establishment of the NTR and the cohorts comprising it. Although Norway has a long tradition in twin research, the centralization and administration of the twin data through a single register structure is fairly recent. The NTR was established in 2009 and currently includes 47,989 twins covering birth years 1895–1960 and 1967–1979; 31,440 of these twins have consented to participate in medical research (comprising 5,439 monozygotic pairs, 6,702 dizygotic same-sexed pairs, and 1,655 dizygotic opposite-sexed pairs). DNA from approximately 4,800 twins is banked at the NIPH biobank and new studies continuously add new data to the registry. The value of NTR data is greatly enhanced through record linkage possibilities offered by Norway's many nation-wide registries (medical, demographic, and socio-economic) and several studies are already taking advantage of these linkage opportunities for research.

scholarly journals The Norwegian Twin Registry

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Nilsen ◽  
Ingunn Brandt ◽  
Nikolai Czajkowski ◽  
Peggy Knudsen ◽  
Per Magnus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Twin Data ◽  
Twin Research ◽  
Health Lifestyle ◽  
Twin Registry ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Access To Data

The Norwegian Twin Registry (NTR) is a large population based twin cohort for research purposes. At present,<br />the registry has 14 692 complete twin pairs with information on zygosity and to varying degree information on<br />somatic and mental health, lifestyle and demographics. The registry covers birth years 1895-1960 and 1967-<br />1991. NTR was established in 2009, at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, as a merger of three major<br />twin panels, the oldest originating in the 1960s. Since then Norwegian twin research has been a notable<br />contributor to twin research internationally. Norwegian twin researchers have published over 250 papers based<br />on Norwegian twin data, spanning a broad range of somatic and mental health phenotypes. In twin studies of<br />heritability a data structure with both variance within and between pairs is required. Therefore a large sample is<br />necessary, especially when studying rare diseases and conditions, and it is of vital importance to expand the<br />registry. NTR is actively recruiting new twins, both young and older, but declining response rates are a<br />challenge. The value of NTR is greatly enhanced through the linkage possibilities offered by Norway’s many<br />nationwide registries (medical, demographic, and socio-economic). Access to data is permitted by the NTR<br />steering group and will in most instances need permission from the Regional Ethics Committee.

scholarly journals A public health perspective on mental health: lessons for population health in the 21st century

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
James V. Lucey
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Royal College ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
Shared Commitment

In December 2019, clinicians and academics from the disciplines of public health and psychiatry met in Dublin at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), to restate their shared commitment to population health. The purpose of this review is to bring our discussion to a wider audience. The meeting could not have been more timely. Six weeks later, the COVID-19 emergency emerged in China and within 12 months it had swept the world. This paper, the contents of which were presented at that meeting in December recommended that future healthcare would be guided more by public health perspectives and informed by an understanding of health economics, population health and the lessons learned by psychiatry in the 20th century. Ultimately two issues are at stake in 21st century healthcare: the sustainability of our healthcare systems and the maintenance of public support for population health. We must plan for the next generation of healthcare. We need to do this now since it is clear that COVID-19 marks the beginning of 21st century medicine.

scholarly journals The Norwegian Twin Registry

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-650
Author(s):  
Thomas Nilsen ◽  
Ingunn Brandt ◽  
Jennifer R. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Record Linkage ◽  
Potential Benefit ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Research Use ◽  
Twin Data ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Twin Registry ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Data Collections

AbstractThe Norwegian Twin Registry (NTR) is maintained as a research resource that was compiled by merging several panels of twin data that were established for research into physical and mental health, wellbeing and development. NTR is a consent-based registry. Where possible, data that were collected in previous studies are curated for secondary research use. A particularly valuable potential benefit associated with the Norwegian twin data lies in the opportunities to expand and enhance the data through record linkage to nationwide registries that cover a wide array of health data and other information, including socioeconomic factors. This article provides a brief description of the current NTR sample and data collections, information about data access procedures and an overview of the national registries that can be linked to the NTR for research projects.

Social determinants of mental health and policy implications

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 574-574
Author(s):  
I. Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
The Social

IntroductionWHO has defined the social determinants of mental health (2008) as “social justice is a matter of life or death. Affects how people live, their propensity for disease and risk of premature death”. Underlies that health is not only determined by biological, but by social factors that can be divided into: Economic, Gender and Cultural.ObjectivesThe author proposes to do a literature review focusing on a consensus on the social determinants of mental health, and the implications on the policies of various countries.Aims and methodsWe performed a literature review using textbooks and research papers (Medline, Pubmed, 1997–2010).ResultsTopics about Social Determinants of Mental Health often establish, the social gradient, situations of stress, childhood development, poverty, drug dependence, conditions at work, unemployment, social support, food, transportation policies, gender and cultural determinants.The Global Movement for Mental Health should play an important role in public health activities, focusing on global mental illness. To do this effectively, the mental health professionals need to confront global poverty, its relationship with the political and economic developments as well as the consequences for common mental illnesses.ConclusionsIn a public health perspective, evidence of the mechanisms of this relationship can be used to consider a variety of primary and secondary preventive strategies with regard to mental health.

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