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What is SLTR?

The Sri Lankan Twin registry established in 1996 is the first ever twin register in South Asia. It is still one the of few large-scale functional population based twin registries in developing world. Two main twin cohorts are volunteer and population based. The population based twin register is presently confined to Colombo district; the most populous among the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. It has 9570 twin pairs and 46 triplets (19278 individuals). The volunteer cohort has 7000 twin pairs and 86 triplets (14258 individuals).

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Why twin research?

Twin studies are considered to be the gold standard to investigate the degree to which characteristics and disorders are passed down through the generations. Studying twins enables researchers to learn more about how a person’s environment (lifestyle, diet) and their genetics have an impact on certain diseases and conditions.

This allows scientists to study the causes and contributing factors of health conditions in communities. Without twins, this type of research would be nearly impossible to conduct. Such information can help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of many health issues in Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries.

Why register?

When you register in the Sri Lankan Twin Registry (SLTR) you become part of a large family of twins and the research community at large. As a twin you can make a unique contribution to research which is generating new knowledge.

The SLTR is open to all twins and other higher order multiples of Sri Lankan nationality. By joining the SLTR and participating in research you will be contributing to science and giving back to the community. You will be able to participate in exciting new cutting edge research; which could be as simple as filing in a survey or doing an ECG.

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Latest Project

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – 3 – Pilot Study 2

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – 3 Pilot Study – 2 is funded by the Medical Research Council, UK and is conducted by the Institute

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study -3

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study 3 (COTASS-3) is funded by the Medical Research Council, UK under a Nutrition-based training grant, and is conducted by

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – Development Project (CoTaSS 3)

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) globally have undergone rapid urbanisation, and changes in demography and health behaviours. Whilst life expectancy at birth for many LMICs

CoTaSS 2 Follow-up study – IRD Bio-bank

  • Genetics, Twin Research
  • Completed
The Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study (CoTaSS2), which is a ‘population based twin study of psychiatric disorders and metabolic syndrome in Sri Lanka’ was

South Asian Early Development & Research Capacity Building Project

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
The Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom (MRC-UK) launched ‘Confidence in Global Mental Health Research: Institutional “pump-priming” awards to develop new opportunities in Global

The Sleep Sub-study

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
The Sleep sub-study was conducted within the Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study and determined the contribution of sleep and activity to the prevalence of

Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
Strong evidence exists which suggests associations between cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study follow-up Study (CoTaSS 2) seeks to explore

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
A population-based twin register was established in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka using infrastructure designed to periodically update the electoral register. We invited a

Latest Publication

The relationship between independent and dependent life events and depression symptoms in Sri Lanka: a twin and singleton study

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Life events have been associated with a variety of mental health conditions including depression. There is a scarcity of research in South Asia exploring the

The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
This study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to emotional overeating (EOE) and depressive symptoms, and their covariation, in a Sri-Lankan population, using genetic model-fitting

Agreement between subjective and objective measures of sleep duration in a low-middle income country setting

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Describe sleep duration in adult Sri Lankans and determine the bias and agreement of self-report and actigraphic assessments.

The Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study: a population based twin study of psychiatric disorders and metabolic syndrome in Sri Lanka

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
The disease burden related to mental disorders and metabolic syndrome is growing in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS) is

Education in Twins and Their Parents Across Birth Cohorts Over 100 years: An Individual-Level Pooled Analysis of 42-Twin Cohorts

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences

Zygosity Differences in Height and Body Mass Index of Twins From Infancy to Old Age: A Study of the CODATwins Project

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this

International Network of Twin Registries (INTR): Building a Platform for International Collaboration

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
The International Network of Twin Registries (INTR) aims to foster scientific collaboration and promote twin research on a global scale by working to expand the

Trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychiatric disorders in a middle-income setting: prevalence and comorbidity

  • Common Mental Disorders, Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Most studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have focused on ‘high-risk’ populations defined by exposure to trauma.

Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Nicotine Use in Sri Lankan Male Twins

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Little is known about the prevalence and etiology of tobacco use in Asian populations. This study aims to test whether the finding of substantial heritability

The Sri Lankan Twin Registry: 2012 Update

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
The Sri Lankan Twin Registry (SLTR), established in 1997, is a unique resource for twin and genetic research in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC).

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to the Overlap Between Psychological, Fatigue and Somatic Symptoms: A Twin Study in Sri Lanka

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Somatic symptoms often co-occur with psychological symptoms but this overlap is poorly understood. Some aspects of this overlap differ in the South Asian context, but

Aetiology of fatigue in Sri Lanka and its overlap with depression

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Fatigue is a common symptom in Western high-income countries but is often medically unexplained and little is known about its presentation in other populations. To explore