Introduction

The Australian Twin Registry is a not-for-profit organisation which facilitates and supports medical and scientific studies that involve the participation of twins and or their relatives, and that use the special characteristics of twins to enable questions of health and wellbeing relevant to Australians to be answered in ways that they otherwise could not.

In order to facilitate these studies, the ATR maintains a national register of twin pairs and their relatives who are willing to consider participating in health related research.  Twins are able to help researchers study the impact of genetic and environmental factors on health and the treatment and prevention of disease in a special way. 

The Australian Twin Registry is funded by the federal government through the National Health and Medical Research Council in order to put researchers in touch with twins who might be willing to take part in particular projects.  More than 31,000 pairs of twins have joined the Registry, making it the largest volunteer registry of its kind in the world.

Registry twins are playing an important role in the world-wide fight against disease, the on-going quest for knowledge about twins and multiple births, and the search for answers to the profound questions posed by genetic research.  A wide range of research projects have been undertaken in conjunction with the Registry, including studies on alcohol and tobacco use; asthma; cholesterol; diabetes; anxiety, stress, and depression; osteoporosis; heart disease; epilepsy; dietary salt; Alzheimer’s disease; eating disorders; prostate size; male infertility; premenstrual tension; endometriosis; teeth; Attention Deficit Disorder; myopia; glaucoma and breast cancer. 

All requests to use the Australian Twin Registry are carefully reviewed.  Approved projects must satisfy ethical guidelines and be of significant value to the area of proposed research.  Information concerning individuals on the Registry is strictly confidential; personal details will not be given out without prior consent.

The annual Registry newsletter provides information concerning many of the different studies that are currently underway or have just been completed.  New studies commence every year and twins are contacted whenever they might be appropriate participants for a study.  Involvement in a study is always voluntary and can be withdrawn at any stage. 

Twins of all types, of any age and in any state of health, are welcome to join the Australian Twin Registry.  To register, or find out more, please call us on Freecall 1800 037 021 or register online here.