The TWO Study: a prospective study of twins, pregnancy to childhood.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The TWO Study. Twins: from the Womb Onwards. A prospective cohort study of twins, from pregnancy to childhood.
IRAS ID
173517
Contact name
Dharmintra Pasupathy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
to be submitted, UKCRN portfolio
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
This study will assess twin pregnancies, following mothers and twins from pregnancy into early childhood. Studying twins (identical and non-identical) helps us to work out the importance of genetic and environmental influences on health and disease.
We will be looking at three main areas:
1. MICROBIOME. This is the study of micro-organisms, such as bacteria or viruses, which all humans have on our skin and inside our bodies (for example, in our gut). These are essential for the healthy working of our bodies, and can have influences on ill health/disease. We will study the roles of the mother’s (and partner’s) microbiome upon the twins’ health and development by taking non-invasive samples such as stool and skin swabs.
2. EPIGENETICS. This is the study of changes in the expression of our genes: whether they are active or inactive. These changes may explain some of the differences between people, for example susceptibility to certain diseases. Epigenetics may partially explain why environmental events early in development can affect long term health (for example, low birthweight and adult heart disease risk). We will be able to explore this from samples such as blood, saliva and/or urine.
3. CLINICAL. This is the study of mothers and twins during pregnancy, and into early childhood. Any pregnancy may proceed normally or there may be complications which could affect mothers and/or babies (for example, growth problems, premature delivery, or medical conditions such as raised blood pressure). Similarly after birth most babies will grow and develop normally but some may have health problems. We will assess routinely acquired data such as ultrasound data, maternal blood pressure, and weight. We will also look for new tests (‘biomarkers’) which could help us manage conditions better in the future, by assessing samples such as urine, blood and/or cervico-vaginal fluid (vaginal swabs).
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1861
Date of REC Opinion
29 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion