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Genetic and environmental influences on sleep problems: a study of preadolescent and adolescent twins
M Moore1, J Slane, J A Mindell
1Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. mooremel@email.chop.edu
Background/Aim:
The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which additive genetic, shared environmental and non-shared environmental factors contribute to adolescent and preadolescent sleep problems.
Methods:
The sample consisted of a cohort of 270 monozygotic and 246 dizygotic twins from a university-based twin registry.
Results:
Results demonstrated that genetic and environmental influences each appear to be important to adolescent sleep problems.
Conclusions:
While the magnitude of genetic influence on sleep problems was consistent with findings from the adult literature, it was smaller than in studies with younger children, suggesting genetic effects may be less influential in adolescence and adulthood.
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