TY - JOUR AU - Nilsen, Thomas S. AU - Brandt, Ingunn AU - Czajkowski, Nikolai AU - Knudsen, Gun Peggy AU - Magnus, Per AU - Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted AU - Tambs, Kristian AU - Harris, Jennifer R. AU - Ørstavik, Ragnhild PY - 2016/07/20 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The Norwegian Twin Registry JF - Norsk Epidemiologi JA - Nor J Epidemiol VL - 26 IS - 1-2 SE - DO - 10.5324/nje.v26i1-2.2012 UR - https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/norepid/article/view/2012 SP - AB - 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. ER -