Twins Early Development Study (TEDS): A Multivariate, Longitudinal Genetic Investigation of Language, Cognition and Behavior Problems in Childhood

Abstract

The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) focuses on the early development of the three most common psychological problems in childhood: communication disorders, mild mental impairment and behavior problems. The TEDS twins were assessed longitudinally at 2, 3, 4 and 7 years of age in order to investigate genetic and environmental contributions to change and continuity in language and cognitive development; it is multivariate in order to examine the origins of comorbidity; and it uses a large sample in order to study abnormal development in the context of normal development. The twins were identified from birth records of twins born in the UK in 1994-96. More than 15,000 pairs of twins have been enrolled in TEDS and the participating families are representative of the UK. The measures at 2, 3 and 4 years are administered by parents. At 7 years, children are assessed for language and cognitive development using telephone testing, parents and children are interviewed about behavior problems, and teachers also assess behavior problems as well as academic achievement. One set of findings is that the same genes largely contribute to both language and cognitive problems and the same genes affect normal and abnormal development, a result that suggests that general impairment may be a better target for genetic research than specific language impairment independent of nonverbal cognitive problems. DNA has been obtained so far for more than 4000 pairs and is being used initially in molecular genetic studies of language problems and hyperactivity.

Moderation of breastfeeding effects on the IQ by genetic variation in fatty acid metabolism

“…Participants in the second cohort were members of the Environmental Risk (E-risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, which tracks the development of a sample of 2,232 children. This E-risk sample was drawn from a 1994 -1995 birth register of twins born in England and Wales (49). The E-risk sample was constructed in 1999 -2000, when 1,116 families with same-sex 5-year-old twins (93% of those eligible) participated in homevisit assessments, forming the base cohort for the longitudinal E-risk study.…”

Generalist genes analysis of DNA markers associated with mathematical ability and disability reveals shared influence across ages and abilities

“…Participants were part of the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), a longitudinal study involving a representative sample of over 11,000 sets of twins born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1996 [35,36]. The TEDS project has received ethical approval from The Joint South London and Maudsley and the Institute of PsychiatryResearch Ethics Committee (approval number: 05/Q0706/228), and the study of the genetics of mathematical cognition within the TEDS sample was approved by the King's College London Research Ethics Committee (PNM/07/08-47).…”

Continuity and Change in Preschool ADHD Symptoms: Longitudinal Genetic Analysis with Contrast Effects

“…As part of the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS; Trouton et al, 2002), the parents of all twins born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995 were invited to report on their twins' behavior at ages 2, 3 and 4. Reply cards were returned by 11,352 parents (71%), of whom 9191 (81%) returned an initial booklet asking for background information about the family.…”