Washington State Twin Registry (WSTR)
The WSTR (formerly the University of Washington Twin Registry) is a community-based registry of twin pairs interested in participating in scientific research on health and behaviour. The registry began recruiting twin pairs in 2002, and as of 2024, comprises 9,274 adult twin pairs (18,548 individuals) and 625 juvenile twin pairs (1,250 individuals). Twin participants are primarily recruited from the Washington State Department of Licensing, with approximately 68% of all participants still residing in the state. Since 2013, WSTR expanded its recruitment, and now includes twins living in 50 United States states and the District of Columbia, and in 41 international countries. After an initial enrollment survey, participants are followed-up every 2 to 3 years with additional health and wellbeing questionnaires.
Study design
Cohort - twin, Cohort - research programme, Registry
Number of participants at first data collection
19,798 (twin individuals, as of August 2024)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
Varied (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2002
Primary Institutions
University of Washington (UW)
Washington State University (WSU)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- None
- None
- Geographic, spatial & environmental data
- Healthcare data
- Medical birth registry
- Other government data
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
