Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (CoTASS)
CoTASS is a population-based cohort study of twins and singletons from the Colombo district of Sri Lanka. The cohort of twins aged over 15 were randomly selected from the Colombo twin register; the Colombo component of the Sri Lankan Twin Registry (SLTR). A total of 3,980 twin individuals (including 1,954 twin pairs, 72 unpaired twins, and 5 sets of triplets) were enrolled from the register and completed baseline in 2005. Among the twin individuals, the mean age was 34 years, 46.2% were male, and 90.1% were of Sinhalese ethnicity. The non-twin sample comprised 2,019 singletons who were randomly selected from the geographical areas where twins were identified. In the non-twin cohort, the mean age was 43.5 years and 45.6% were male.
Study design
Cohort - twin
Number of participants at first data collection
3,980 (twin individuals)
2,019 (non-twin participants)
Age at first data collection
15 - 84 years (twin individuals)
≥15 years (non-twin participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (twin individuals)
Varied (non-twin participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
The Colombo district of Sri Lanka
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2005
Primary Institutions
Institute for Research and Development (Research, Sri Lanka)
King's College London (KCL) (Academic, United Kingdom)
Links
sltr.ird.lk/project/colombo-twin-and-singleton-study/
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Medical Research Council (MRC) (Research council, United Kingdom)
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Research council, Australia)
Wellcome Trust (Third Sector, United Kingdom)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- None
- None
- None
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
