Screening Across the Lifespan Twin Study
The SALT study was initiated in 1998, with the purpose of screening all twins in Sweden born before 1958 for most common complex diseases, regardless of the status of their twin partner. The extensive interview included questions about illnesses and health, medication use, occupation, education, and lifestyle factors.
- Start Year
- 1998
- End Year
- 2010
- Supplementary Information
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The Swedish Twin Registry (STR) includes more than 190,000 twins - in principle all twins born in Sweden since 1886. The STR is made of three cohorts, each of which differs in method of ascertainment and extent of data collected: old cohort (born between 1886-1925), middle cohort (born between 1926-1958), and young cohort (born between 1959-1990). Same-sex twins from the old cohort were sent questionnaires in 1961, 1963, 1967, and 1970, and those from the middle cohort were sent a questionnaire in 1973.
SALT is a sub-study of the STR and it is a complete screening of all twins from this registry, regardless of gender composition or vital status of the pair and stems from the old and middle cohorts. In addition to the SALT interview, there was the TwinGene (2004-2008), SALTY (2009-2010) which included questionnaires and biosamples, and HARMONY (1998-2003) which included cognitive functioning screenings for those 65 and above, which have been conducted.
Visit SALT
| Investigators | Contacts |
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Supplementary Information
- Magnusson PK, Almqvist C, Rahman I, et al. The Swedish Twin Registry: Establishment of a Biobank and Other Recent Developments. Twin Res Hum Genet 2012; 16: 317-29. Pubmed ID 23137839.
Marker Paper
Lichtenstein P, Sullivan PF, Cnattingius S, et al. The Swedish Twin Registry in the third millennium: an update. Twin Res Hum Genet 2006; 9: 875-82.
PUBMED 17254424
Recruitment
- Sources of Recruitment
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- Families
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 44,919
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 18,061
- Supplementary Information
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
Supplementary Information
Timeline
SALT population
The population consisted of twin pairs born in 1958 or earlier regardless of gender composition or vital status of the pair, selected from the Swedish Twin Registry and asked to participate to the study.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
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40
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
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- Sweden
- Ethnic Origin
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- Health Status
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Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
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- Specific population
- Specific Population
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- Other specific population : Swedish Twin Registry
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 44,919
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 18,061
- Supplementary Information
-
HARMONY: 14 164
TwinGene: 12 614 participants
SALTY: 11 372 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
SALT - CATI interview
|
Computer assisted telephone interview collected information about twin and family status, height, weight, education, occupation, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, common illnesses, medications, and ... |
1998 | 2002 |
| 1 |
SALT - HARMONY
|
SALT participants aged 65 or older were included in HARMONY and administered a screening instrument for dementia as part of the SALT interview. All twins who screened positive, together with ... |
1998 | 2003 |
| 2 |
SALT - TwinGene
|
The primary aim to the TwinGene project was to enhance the SALT study with biological specimens. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire about common diseases and to contact their ... |
2004 | 2008 |
| 3 |
SALT - SALTY
|
The SALTY project focused on the younger part of the SALT study born between 1943 and 1958. The data collection consisted of an extensive self-report paper-questionnaire and an Internet-based ... |
2009 | 2010 |