Vietnam Era Twin Registry Explained

The Vietnam Era Twin Registry (abbreviated VET Registry) is a twin registry containing 7,369 male-male twin pairs who served in the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War (defined as the period from 1964 to 1975). As of 2013, it is one of the largest national adult twin samples in the United States.^[1] All of the twins in the registry were born between 1939 and 1955.^[2] Though it was originally formed to study the effects of military service on health, it has since been widely used to study the role of genetics in many specific mental and physical illnesses.^[3]

History

The Vietnam Era Twin Registry was constructed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from military records in the 1980s.^[4] The registry is also based on two other data sources: a 1987 questionnaire mailed to the registry's members and the VA's computerized databases. Potential twins were identified using an algorithm which aimed to identify pairs of individuals with the same last name, different first names, and similar Social Security Numbers, among other characteristics; twin status was then confirmed by examining military records.^[5] The registry was officially created in 1987^[6] and was opened to non-VA investigators in 1988.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Tsai . Melyssa . Mori . Alaina M. . Forsberg . Christopher W. . Waiss . Nicole . Sporleder . Jennifer L. . Smith . Nicholas L. . Goldberg . Jack . February 2013 . The Vietnam Era Twin Registry: a quarter century of progress . Twin Research and Human Genetics. 16 . 1 . 429–436 . 10.1017/thg.2012.122 . 1832-4274 . 23177374. 43077269 . free .
2. Eisen . S. . Neuman . R. . Goldberg . J. . Rice . J. . True . W. . 2008-06-28 . Determining zygosity in the Vietnam Era Twin Registry: an approach using questionnaires . Clinical Genetics . en . 35 . 6 . 423–432 . 10.1111/j.1399-0004.1989.tb02967.x . 2736790 . 30229113 . 0009-9163.
3. Goldberg . Jack . Curran . Birute . Vitek . Mary Ellen . Henderson . William G. . Boyko . Edward J. . October 2002 . The Vietnam Era Twin Registry . Twin Research and Human Genetics . en . 5 . 5 . 476–481 . 10.1375/136905202320906318. 12537880 . 2053-6003. free .
4. Web site: Vietnam-Era Twin Registry History & Formation . Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC) . en . 2018-08-15.
5. Eisen . S. . True . W. . Goldberg . J. . Henderson . W. . Robinette . C. D. . January 1987 . The Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry: Method of Construction . Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae: Twin Research . en . 36 . 1 . 61–66 . 10.1017/S0001566000004591 . 3673478 . 23518198 . 0001-5660. free .
6. Fabsitz . R. R. . Sholinsky . P. . Goldberg . J. . March 1997 . Correlates of sleep problems among men: the Vietnam Era Twin Registry . Journal of Sleep Research . 6 . 1 . 50–56 . 0962-1105 . 9125699. 10.1046/j.1365-2869.1997.00026.x . free .
7. Henderson . W. G. . Eisen . S. . Goldberg . J. . True . W. R. . Barnes . J. E. . Vitek . M. E. . July 1990 . The Vietnam Era Twin Registry: a resource for medical research . Public Health Reports . 105 . 4 . 368–373 . 0033-3549 . 1580072 . 2116638.