Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T07:34:13.149Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Study of Gene-Environment Effects on Development of Hyperopia: A Study of 191 Adult Twin Pairs from the Finnish Twin Cohort Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

J. Teikari ,
M. Koskenvuo ,
J. Kaprio  and
J. O'Donnell
J. Teikari*
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
M. Koskenvuo
Affiliation:
Deparment of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
J. Kaprio
Affiliation:
Deparment of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
J. O'Donnell
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
*
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, SF-00290 Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Finnish Twin Cohort material was used to estimate genetic and environmental effects in the etiology of hyperopia (farsightedness). All twin pairs in the cohort born before year 1927 (age 60 years and over at the time of the study), with both members alive, were sent a questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions of past and present eye diseases, visits to ophthalmologists, use of glasses and other vision-related questions. The hyperopia was assessed by asking the patients to send their last prescription for glasses to the authors. Twins with any eye disease affecting refraction (cataract, corneal damage), operation or trauma to their eyes were discarded from the present study. In 191 pairs (80 monozygotic and 111 dizygotic pairs) one or both members of the pair had a hyperopic refractive error. The correlations of refraction between right and left eyes of both MZ and DZ pairs were high (Spearman Rank Correlations of 0.86-0.89). The intrapair correlations among MZ pairs were higher (0.44 for right and 0.45 for left eyes) than intrapair correlations among DZ pairs (0.24 for right and 0.15 for left eyes). The variances were not significantly different among MZ and DZ pairs. The classical analysis of heritability gave an estimate of 0.75 for hyperopia. The result suggests that genetic factors are important in hyperopia and especially in hyperopia of higher degree.

Keywords

HyperopiaHeredityTwins
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , January 1990 , pp. 133 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1990

References

REFERENCES

1.Sama, S, Kaprio, J, Sistonen, P, Koskenvuo, M (1978): Diagnosis of twin zygosity by mailed questionnaire. Hum Hered 28:241–254.Google Scholar
2.Kaprio, J, Sarna, S, Koskenvuo, M, Rantasalo, I (1978): Baseline characteristics of the Finnish Twin Registry: Section II: History of symptoms and illnesses, use of drugs, physical characteristics, smoking, alcohol and physical activity. Publications of the Department of Public Health Science, University of Helsinki M37.Google Scholar
3.Kaprio, J, Sarna, S, Koskenvuo, M, Rantasalo, I (1978): The Finnish Twin Registry: Formation and compilation, questionnaire study, zygotisy determination procedures and research program. Prog Clin Biol Res 24:179–184.Google ScholarPubMed
4.Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M, Artimo, M, Sarna, S, Rantasalo, I (1979): The Finnish Twin Registry: Baseline characteristics. Section I. Materials, methods, representativeness and results for variables special to twin studies. Publications of the Department of Public Health Science, University of Helsinki M47.Google Scholar
5.Koskenvuo, M, Langinvainio, H, Kaprio, J, Rantasalo, I, Sama, S (1979): The Finnish Twin Registry: Baseline characteristics. Section III. Occupational and psychosocial factors. Publications of the Department of Public Health Science, University of Helsinki M49.Google Scholar
6.Sarna, S (1977): Zygosity diagnosis in epidemiological twin studies by blood marker and by questionnaire. Hum Hered 28:241–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Christian, JC, Kang, KW, Norton, JA (1974): Choice of an estimate of genetic variance from twin data. Am J Hum Genet 26:154–161.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Teikari, JM, Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M, Vannas, A (1988): Heritability estimate for refractive errors - A population-based sample of adult twins. Genet Epidemiol 171–181.Google Scholar