Twin's Birth-Order Differences in Height and Body Mass Index From Birth to Old Age: A Pooled Study of 26 Twin Cohorts Participating in the CODATwins Project

• DOI: 10.1017/thg.2016.11
• Publication Date: 2016-03-21T12:09:00Z
• Authors: Yoshie Yokoyama; Aline Jelenkovic; Reijo Sund; Joohon Sung; John L. Hopper; Syuichi Ooki; Kauko Heikkilä; Sari Aaltonen; Adam D. Tarnoki; David L. Tarnoki; Gonneke Willemsen; Meike Bartels; Toos C. E. M. van...; Kimberly J. Saudino; Tessa L. Cutler; Tracy L. Nelson; Keith E. Whitfield; Jane Wardle; Clare H. Llewellyn; Abigail Fisher; Mingguang He; Xiaohu Ding; Morten Bjerregaar...; Henning Beck-Nielsen; Morten Sodemann; Yun-Mi Song; Sarah Yang; Kayoung Lee; Hoe-Uk Jeong; Ariel Knafo-Noam; David Mankuta; Lior Abramson; S. Alexandra Burt; Kelly L. Klump; Juan R. Ordoñana; Juan F. Sánchez-R...; Lucia Colodro-Conde; Jennifer R. Harris; Ingunn Brandt; Thomas Sevenius N...; Jeffrey M. Craig; Richard Saffery; Fuling Ji; Feng Ning; Zengchang Pang; Lise Dubois; Michel Boivin; Mara Brendgen; Ginette Dionne; Frank Vitaro; Nicholas G. Martin; Sarah E. Medland; Grant W. Montgomery; Patrik K. E. Magn...; Nancy L. Pedersen; Anna K. Dahl Aslan; Per Tynelius; Claire M. A. Haworth; Robert Plomin; Esther Rebato; Richard J. Rose; Jack H. Goldberg; Finn Rasmussen; Yoon-Mi Hur; Thorkild I. A. Sø...; Dorret I. Boomsma; Jaakko Kaprio; Karri Silventoinen
• Keywords: Zygosity; Mass index

We analyzed birth order differences in means and variances of height body mass index (BMI) monozygotic (MZ) dizygotic (DZ) twins from infancy to old age. The data were derived the international CODATwins database. total number BMI measures 0.5 79.5 years age was 397,466. As expected, first-born had greater weight than second-born twins. With respect height, slightly taller childhood. After adjusting results for weight, decreased no longer statistically significant. First-born over childhood adolescence. still associated with until 12 No interaction effect between zygosity found. Only limited evidence found that influenced or BMI. similar among boys girls also MZ DZ Overall, first- modest even early childhood, while adjustment reduced but did not remove them