The Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA)

SND-ID: EXT 0044

This study is part of the collection NEAR - National E-Infrastructure for Aging Research in Sweden

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Nancy Pedersen - Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics orcid

Description

The Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) is a longitudinal study where the twin design and the inclusion of twins reared apart makes it possible to study the importance of genetic and environmental factors that may underlie differing aging outcomes. The baseline population consists of all twins from the Swedish Twin Registry (STR) who had been reared apart (TRA), i.e. separated before age of 11 and reared apart, and a control sample of twins reared together (TRT) matched on sex, date of birth, and county of birth.

SATSA started with a survey in 1984 where a questionnaire was sent to all surviving individuals (n=2845). Out of these 2018 responded (71%). Questionnaire data have been collected at nine waves with approximately three-year intervals over a total of 28 years.

A subset of the individuals in SATSA where both twins still were alive, >50 years of age, and had responded to the initial questionnaire, were included for an in-person testing (IPT), which involved cognitive tests and clinical examinations. The first IPT was conducted in 1986-88 where 645 individuals (303 pairs) were

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Language

English

Swedish

Research principal, contributors, and funding

Research principal

Karolinska Institutet

Responsible department/unit

Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Funding 1

  • Funding agency: Swedish Research Council
  • Funding agency's reference number: 825-2007-7460

Funding 2

  • Funding agency: National Institutes of Health
  • Funding agency's reference number: AG04563

Funding 3

  • Funding agency: National Institutes of Health
  • Funding agency's reference number: AG10175

Funding 4

  • Funding agency: The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging

Funding 5

  • Funding agency: The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
  • Funding agency's reference number: 2009-0795
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Protection and ethical review

Data contains personal data

Yes

Sensitive personal data

Yes

Type of personal data

Pseudonymised data

Code key exists

Yes

Ethics Review

Other - Ref. 80:80

Forskningsetikkommittén vid Karolinska Institutet

Other - Ref. 98:319

Forskningsetikkommittén vid Karolinska Institutet

Other - Ref. 84:61

Forskningsetikkommittén vid Karolinska Institutet

Other - Ref. 93:226

Forskningsetikkommittén vid Karolinska Institutet

Other - Ref. 2010/657-31/3

Forskningsetikkommittén vid Karolinska Institutet

Method and time period

Unit of analysis

Population

All twins in the Swedish Twin Registry who were separated at an early age and reared apart and a control sample of twins reared together

Study design

Observational study

Cohort study

Cohort study: Prospective

Sampling procedure

Other
Like-sexed twins in the Swedish Twin Registry reared apart, and a control sample of twins reared together matched on age, sex, and county of birth.

Time period(s) investigated

1987 – 2014

Biobank is connected to the study

The study has collected samples/material which are stored in a scientific collection or biobank

Scientific collection or biobank name: SATSA

Type(s) of sample: Blood tests

Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Sweden

Publications

Finkel, D., & Pedersen, N. (2004). Processing speed and longitudinal trajectories of change for cognitive abilities: The Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. In AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION (Vol. 11, Issues 2–3, pp. 325–345). https://doi.org/10.1080/13825580490511152
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13825580490511152

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.

Dataset
Swedish Adoption / Twin Study of Aging (SATSA)

Description

The SATSA questionnaires assessed physical and mental health status; selected personality dimensions; activities of daily living; health-related behaviors of smoking, alcohol consumption and legal drug use; early rearing environment, and the adult working, family and social environments. For the TRA subjects, circumstances of separation were also explored.

The IPT included interviews, a health examination including blood pressure and lung function, blood sampling, and tests on functional capaci

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Citation

Finkel D. & Pedersen NL (2004) Processing Speed and Longitudinal Trajectories of Change for Cognitive Abilities: The Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging, Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 11:2-3, 325-345, DOI: 10.1080/13825580490511152

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Nancy Pedersen - Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics orcid

Time period(s) investigated

1984 – 2014

Data collection 1

  • Mode of collection: Self-administered questionnaire: paper
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1984–1984

Data collection 2

  • Mode of collection: Measurements and tests
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1986–1988

Data collection 3

  • Mode of collection: Self-administered questionnaire
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1987–1987
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Variables

2274

Response rate/participation rate

71%

Response rate Q1

Published: 2012-01-01
Last updated: 2022-03-07