Journal article

The Association Between Chronic Disease and Psychological Distress: An Australian Twin Study

Jessica Tyler, Janine Lam, Katrina Scurrah, Gillian Dite

TWIN RESEARCH AND HUMAN GENETICS | CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS | Published : 2020

Abstract

There is a commonly observed association between chronic disease and psychological distress, but many potential factors could confound this association. This study investigated the association using a powerful twin study design that can control for unmeasured confounders that are shared between twins, including genetic and environmental factors. We used twin-paired cross-sectional data from the Adult Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire collected by Twins Research Australia from 2014 to 2017. Linear regression models fitted using maximum likelihood estimations (MLE) were used to test the association between self-reported chronic disease status and psychological distress, measured by the Kessle..

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council through a Centre of Research Excellence Grant


Funding Acknowledgements

This research was facilitated through Twins Research Australia (TRA). TRA receives support from the National Health and Medical Research Council through a Centre of Research Excellence Grant (ID:1079102), which is administered by the University of Melbourne. We thank all the twins who are members of TRA and completed the Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire.