# GENETIC & ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES--BIOBEHAVIORAL AGING

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 1992 · $351,809

## Abstract

The primary purpose of the proposed research is to capitalize on an
initial investment of the National Institute on Aging (AGO4563) which in
1984 launched the only longitudinal behavioral genetic analysis of
individual differences in functioning later in life.  The study, called
the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA), uses the powerful
design of twins reared together and twins read apart, and has become a
landmark study of gerontological genetics.  SATSA now has the opportunity
to study this unique sample a decade later through the inclusion of a
third wave of in-person testing (IPT3) and a fourth wave of questionnaire
assessment (Q4).  Approximately 600 individuals will be tested in IPT3,
and 2,000 individuals will receive Q4.  Longitudinal data to be collected
in IPT include measures of health and health-related behavior,
nutritional status, activities of daily living, functional capacity, and
cognition.  The questionnaire phase covers self-perceived impairment due
to health-related outcomes, personality, and measures of the environment
including life events, social support, socioeconomic status and the
family environment.  The powerful adoption/twin design of SATSA provides
a compelling basis for analyzing issues of genetic and environmental
contributions to change and continuity in biobehavioral aging.

Extension of SATSA to three measurement occasions will enable
quantitative genetic analyses of research issues related to the shape of
growth curves, such as the importance of genetic factors for terminal
decline and reduction in functional capacity.  Three points of measure
provide a more appropriate basis for examining structural change in the
relationship of measures within and between biobehavioral domains.  Thus,
analyses will also be concerned with assessing the extent to which
genetic and environmental factors mediate the relationship between
health, cognition and well-being in the elderly.  More refined analyses
of the etiology of developmental turning-points and the mechanisms
contributing to longitudinal stability and change will be possible with
the inclusion of a fourth occasion.  Predictive relationships, such as
the impact of life events and social support on cognitive and health
outcomes at subsequent occasions, will also be the object of study.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3122142
- **Project number:** 1R01AG010175-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NPM2J7MSCF61
- **Principal Investigator:** NANCY L PEDERSEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $351,809
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1992-09-18 → 1996-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3122142

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3122142, GENETIC & ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES--BIOBEHAVIORAL AGING (1R01AG010175-01A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3122142. Licensed CC0.

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