The prevalence of child and adolescent growth and mental-behavior related diseases are increasing, and the pathogenesis are complex. Twins are excellent natural resources for complex chronic diseases research as they share the maternal intrauterine environment, born at the same time and share the same family environment in early years, which could benefit the adjust ment of confounding factors, such as age, genetic factors and early family environmental factors. Birth cohort with twin families involved could be more effective in exploring the genetic and environmental factors for complex chronic diseases at the very beginning of life. This paper summarizes the objective, content, progress, strengths and potential problems of Wuhan Twin Birth Cohort, with emphasis on the overall design and progress of the study.
儿童及青少年期生长发育及心理行为相关疾病患病率有逐年上升趋势，且病因复杂。双生子共享母体宫内环境、同时出生并享有相同的早期家庭环境，能控制年龄、遗传和早期家庭环境等的干扰，是开展复杂慢性疾病研究的良好资源。利用双生子家庭开展出生队列研究，能更好地结合遗传和环境因素寻找复杂慢性疾病的病因起源。本研究从研究目标、内容、进展和优势与潜在问题等方面对武汉双生子出生队列进行简要介绍，着重呈现本研究的总体设计和进展概况。.
Keywords: Birth cohort; Twin study.