Articles

IGEMS: The Consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies

Nancy L. Pedersen^a1a2 c1, Kaare Christensen^a3, Anna K. Dahl^a1a10, Deborah Finkel^a4, Carol E. Franz^a5, Margaret Gatz^a1a2, Briana N. Horwitz^a12, Boo Johansson^a6, Wendy Johnson^a7, William S. Kremen^a5a8, Michael J. Lyons^a9, Bo Malmberg^a10, Matt McGue^a11a3, Jenae M. Neiderhiser^a12, Inge Petersen^a3 and Chandra A. Reynolds^a13

^a1 Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

^a2 Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

^a3 The Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology, Odense C, Denmark

^a4 Department of Psychology, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN, USA

^a5 Department of Psychiatry, University of California – San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

^a6 Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

^a7 Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

^a8 Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare Center, La Jolla, CA, USA

^a9 Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

^a10 Institute of Gerontology, School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

^a11 Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

^a12 Department of Psychology, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA

^a13 Department of Psychology, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA

Abstract

The Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) group is a consortium of eight longitudinal twin studies established to explore the nature of social context effects and gene-environment interplay in late-life functioning. The resulting analysis of the combined data from over 17,500 participants aged 25–102 at baseline (including nearly 2,600 monogygotic and 4,300 dizygotic twin pairs and over 1,700 family members) aims to understand why early life adversity, and social factors such as isolation and loneliness, are associated with diverse outcomes including mortality, physical functioning (health, functional ability), and psychological functioning (well-being, cognition), particularly in later life.

(Received August 30 2012)

(Accepted October 11 2012)

(Online publication November 28 2012)

Keywords:

• twins;
• gene-environment interaction;
• aging;
• longitudinal

Correspondence:

^c1 address for correspondence: Nancy L. Pedersen, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Box 281, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: Nancy.Pedersen@ki.se