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Centers & Programs

IGEMS: Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies

Participating Studies

Australian Over 50’s study (A50)

The Prospective Imaging Study of Aging (PISA)

Older Australian Twins Study (OATS)

Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins (LSADT)

Middle Age Danish Twin study (MADT)

MId-aged Danish Twins (MIDT)

Finnish Twin Cohort (FTC)

Screening Across the Lifespan Twin Study (SALT)

Study of Dementia in Swedish Twins (Harmony)

Aging in Women and Men (GENDER)

Study of Origins of Variance in the Oldest-Old (OCTO-Twin)

Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA)

Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS)

Carolina African-American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA)

Midlife in the United States Twin Study (MIDUS)

Minnesota Twin Study of Adult Development and Aging (MTSADA)

NAS-NRC Twin Registry and Duke Twins Study (NAS-NRC)

Project Talent Twin Registry (PTTR)

Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA)

Investigators

Postdoctoral & Research Assistants

Postdoctoral & Research Assistants

Shreya Bhardwaj, PhD
Natalie Byrd, BSc
Shandell Pahlen, PhD
Tina Vo, PhD
Erik Buchholz, MS
Paivi Herranen, MS
Anqing Zheng, PhD
Danielle Seay, PhD
Sophie Perizonius, MSc
Joey White, BA
Tara Henechowicz, PhD
Penghao Xia, MSc
Sneha Nimmagadda, MA
Yuling Yu, PhD
Sam Brouwers, MMSc

Data Management and Program Management

Orla Hayden, BSc
Tarra Kohli, MA
Ellen Walters, MS

Project Publications

Pedersen, N. L., Christensen, K., Dahl, A. K., Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Gatz, M., … Reynolds, C. A. (2013). IGEMS: The Consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16(1), 481–489. doi:10.1017/thg.2012.110 article

Pedersen, N. L., Gatz, M., Finch, B. K., Finkel, D., Butler, D. A., Dahl Aslan, A., Franz, C. E., Kaprio, J., Lapham, S., McGue, M., Mosing, M. A., Neiderhiser, J., Nygaard, M., Panizzon, M., Prescott, C. A., Reynolds, C. A., Sachdev, P., & Whitfield, K. E. (2019). IGEMS: The Consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies – An Update. Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies, 22(6), 809–816. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2019.76  article

Finkel, D., Finch, B. K., Gatz, M., Christensen, K., Franz, C. E., Karlsson, I. K., … Pedersen, N. L. (2025). The Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) Consortium After Fifteen Years. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 1–10. doi:10.1017/thg.2025.10036 article

Finch, B. K., Finkel, D., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N. L., Reynolds, C. A., Sachdev, P., Selwood, A., Martin, N., & Mosing, M. A. (2025). Self-rated health and mortality: Family background and genetic precursors. Discover Social Science and Health, 5(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00290-6

Saelzler, U. G., Sundermann, E. E., Foret, J. T., Gatz, M., Karlsson, I. K., Pederson, N. L., & Panizzon, M. S. (2025). Age of menopause and dementia risk in 10,832 women from the Swedish Twin Registry.

Kremen, W. S., Ericsson, M., Gatz, M., Karlsson, I. K., Nygaard, M., Pedersen, N. L., & Panizzon, M. S. (2025). A lifespan perspective on cognitive reserve and risk for dementia. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 21(6), Article e70176. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70176

Walters, E. E., Luczak, S. E., Beam, C. R., & et al. (2025). Is educational attainment protective against developing dementia? A twin study of genetic and environmental contributions. European Journal of Epidemiology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-025-01286-x

Petkus, A. J., Reynolds, C. A., Catts, V. S., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Nygaard, M., Sachdev, P. S., Pedersen, N. L., & Gatz, M. (2025). Terminal increases in depressive symptoms in a multinational twin consortium. Psychological Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976251351022 article

Finkel, D., Hyde, M., Hasselgren, C., Sacco, L., Sindi, S., & Nilsen, C. (2025). Both childhood and adult perceived financial strain impact age trajectories of change in emotional health in late adulthood. Aging & Mental Health, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2464709

Gustavson, D. E., Bell, T. R., Buchholz, E. J., Zellers, S., Luczak, S. E., Reynolds, C. A., Finch, B. K., Nygaard, M., Catts, V. S., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Kremen, W. S., Latvala, A., Martin, N. G., McGue, M., Mewton, L., Mosing, M. A., Panizzon, M. S., Plassman, B. L., Kaprio, J., … IGEMS Consortium. (2025). Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol consumption in middle to late life. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001052

Moshtael, R., Lynch, M. E., Duncan, G. E., & others. (2024). A genetically informed study of the association between perceived stress and loneliness. Behavior Genetics, 54(3), 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-023-10176-5

Matison, A. P., Thalamuthu, A., Flood, V. M., & others. (2024). Longitudinal associations between fruit and vegetable intakes and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults from four international twin cohorts. Scientific Reports, 14, 29711. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79963-2

Pilgrim, M. J. D., Beam, C. R., Nygaard, M., & Finkel, D. (2024). Prospective effects of self-rated health on dementia risk in two twin studies of aging. Behavior Genetics, 54(4), 307–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-024-10182-1. article

Finkel, D., Gatz, M., Franz, C. E., Catts, V. S., Christensen, K., Kremen, W. S., Nygaard, M., Plassman, B. L., Sachdev, P. S., Whitfield, K., & Pedersen, N. L. (2024). Age and sex differences in the genetic architecture of measures of subjective health: Relationships with physical health, depressive symptoms, and episodic memory. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 79(6), gbae062. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae062. article

Jang, J. Y., Beam, C. R., Karlsson, I. K., Pedersen, N. L., & Gatz, M. (2023). Dementia and mortality in older adults: A twin study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13553

Ojalehto, E., Zhan, Y., Jylhävä, J., Reynolds, C. A., Dahl Aslan, A. K., & Karlsson, I. K. (2023). Genetically and environmentally predicted obesity in relation to cardiovascular disease: a nationwide cohort study. EClinicalMedicine, 58, 101943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101943

Ericsson, M., Finch, B., Karlsson, I. K., Gatz, M., Reynolds, C. A., Pedersen, N. L., & Mosing, M. (2023). Educational influences on late-life health: Genetic propensity and attained education. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad153

Luczak, S. E., Beam, C. R., Pahlen, S., Lynch, M., Pilgrim, M., Reynolds, C. A., Panizzon, M. S., Catts, V. S., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Kremen, W. S., Lee, T., McGue, M., Nygaard, M., Plassman, B. L., Whitfield, K. E., Pedersen, N. L., Gatz, M., & IGEMS Consortium. (2023). Remember this: Age moderation of genetic and environmental contributions to verbal episodic memory from midlife through late adulthood. Intelligence, 99, 101759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2023.101759 article

Finkel, D., Zavala, C., Franz, C. E., Pahlen, S., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N. L., … Whitfield, K. E. (2022). Financial strain moderates genetic influences on self-rated health: Support for the diathesis–stress model of gene–environment interplay. Biodemography and Social Biology, 67(1), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.2022.2037069

Hou, J., Hess, J. L., Armstrong, N., Bis, J. C., Grenier-Boley, B., Karlsson, I. K., Leonenko, G., Numbers, K., O’Brien, E. K., Shadrin, A., Thalamuthu, A., Yang, Q., Andreassen, O. A., Brodaty, H., Gatz, M., Kochan, N. A., Lambert, J.-C., Laws, S. M., Masters, C. L., Mather, K. A., … Glatt, S. J. (2022). Polygenic resilience scores capture protective genetic effects for Alzheimer’s disease. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1), 296. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02055-0

Karlsson, I. K., Ploner, A., Wang, Y., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N. L., & Hägg, S. (2022). Leukocyte DNA methylation in Alzheimer’s disease-associated genes: Replication of findings from neuronal cells. Epigenetics, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2022.2158285 article

Karlsson, I. K., Zhan, Y., Wang, Y., Li, X., Jylhävä, J., Hägg, S., Dahl Aslan, A., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N. L., & Reynolds, C. A. (2022). Adiposity and the risk of dementia: Mediating effects from inflammation and lipid levels. European Journal of Epidemiology, [Epub ahead of print]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-022-00918-w article

Vo, T. T., Pahlen, S., Kremen, W. S., McGue, M., Dahl Aslan, A., Nygaard, M., Christensen, K., & Reynolds, C. A. (2022). Does sleep duration moderate genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive performance? Sleep, 45(10), zsac140. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac140 abstract

Beam, C. R., Luczak, S. E., Panizzon, M. S., Reynolds, C. A., Christensen, K., Dahl Aslan, A. K., Elman, J. A., Franz, C. E., Kremen, W. S., Lee, T., Nygaard, M., Sachdev, P. S., Whitfield, K. E., Pedersen, N. L., Gatz, M., & the IGEMS Consortium. (2022). Estimating likelihood of dementia in the absence of diagnostic data: A latent dementia index in 10 genetically informed studies. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 90(3), 1187–1201. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-220472 article

Phillips, D. M., Finkel, D., Petkus, A. J., Muñoz, E., Pahlen, S., Johnson, W., Reynolds, C. A., & Pedersen, N. (2022). Longitudinal analyses indicate bidirectional associations between loneliness and health. Aging & Mental Health, 1–9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2087210 abstract

Karlsson, I. K., Escott-Price, V., Gatz, M., Hardy, J., Pedersen, N. L., Shoai, M., & Reynolds, C. A. (2022). Measuring heritable contributions to Alzheimer’s disease: Polygenic risk score analysis with twins. Brain Communications, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab308 article

Karlsson, I. K., Zhan, Y., Gatz, M., Reynolds, C. A., & Dahl-Aslan, A. K. (2021). Change in cognition and body mass index in relation to preclinical dementia. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 7, e12176. https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12176 article

Karlsson, I. K., Gatz, M., Arpawong, T. E., Dahl-Aslan, A. K., & Reynolds, C. A. (2021). The dynamic association between body mass index and cognition from midlife through late-life, and the effect of sex and genetic influences. Scientific Reports, 11, 7206. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86667-4 article

Gustavson, D. E., Panizzon, M. S., Kremen, W. S., Reynolds, C. A., Pahlen, S., Nygaard, M., Wod, M., Catts, V. S., Lee, T., Gatz, M., & Franz, C. E., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2021). Genetic and environmental influences on semantic verbal fluency across midlife and later life. Behavior Genetics, 51, 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-021-10048-w article

Gustavson, D. E., Franz, C. E., Panizzon, M. S., Lyons, M. J., & Kremen, W. S. (2020). Internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in middle age: Genetic and environmental architecture and stability of symptoms over 15 to 20 years. Psychological Medicine, 50(9), 1530–1538. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719001533 abstract

Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Christensen, K., Reynolds, C. A., & Pedersen, N. L. (2020). Longitudinal Twin Study of Subjective Health: Differences in Genetic and Environmental Components of Variance Across Age and Sex. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 75(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby030 article

Beam, C. R., Kaneshiro, C., Jang, J. Y., Reynolds, C. A., Pedersen, N. L., & Gatz, M. (2020). A twin study of sex differences in genetic risk for all dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and non-AD dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 76(2), 539–551. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-191192 abstract

Karlsson, I. K., Lehto, K., Gatz, M., Reynolds, C. A., & Dahl Aslan, A. K. (2020). Age-dependent effects of body mass index across the adult life span on the risk of dementia: a cohort study with a genetic approach. BMC medicine, 18(1), 131. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01600-2 article

Luo, J., Beam, C. R., Karlsson, I. K., Pike, C. J., Reynolds, C. A., & Gatz, M. (2020). Dementia risk in women higher in same-sex than opposite-sex twins. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 12(1), e12049. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12049 article

Finch, B. K., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2019). Consortium on interplay of genes and environment across multiple studies. In Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_648-1 article

Sanderson-Cimino, M., Panizzon, M. S., Elman, J. A., Gustavson, D. E., Franz, C. E., Reynolds, C. A., Toomey, R., Lyons, M. J., & Kremen, W. S. (2019). Genetic and environmental architecture of processing speed across midlife. Neuropsychology, 33(6), 862–871. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000551 article

Franz, C. E., Xian, H., Lew, D., Hatton, S. N., Puckett, O., Whitsel, N., Beck, A., Dale, A. M., Fang, B., Fennema-Notestine, C., Hauger, R. L., Jacobson, K. C., Lyons, M. J., Reynolds, C. A., & Kremen, W. S. (2019). Body mass trajectories and cortical thickness in middle-aged men: a 42-year longitudinal study starting in young adulthood. Neurobiology of aging, 79, 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.03.003 article

Gustavson, D. E., Panizzon, M. S., Kremen, W. S., Reynolds, C. A., Pahlen, S., Nygaard, M., Wod, M., Catts, V. S., Lee, T., Gatz, M., Franz, C. E., & IGEMS Consortium (2021). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Semantic Verbal Fluency Across Midlife and Later Life. Behavior genetics, 51(2), 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-021-10048-w

Mosing, M. A., Lundholm, C., Cnattingius, S., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2018). Associations between birth characteristics and age-related cognitive impairment and dementia: A registry-based cohort study. PLoS medicine, 15(7), e1002609. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002609 article

Zavala, C., Beam, C. R., Finch, B. K., Gatz, M., Johnson, W., Kremen, W. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., Pedersen, N. L., & Reynolds, C. A. (2018). Attained SES as a moderator of adult cognitive performance: Testing gene-environment interaction in various cognitive domains. Developmental psychology, 54(12), 2356–2370. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000576 article

Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Christensen, K., Reynolds, C. A., & Pedersen, N. L. (2020). Longitudinal twin study of subjective health: Differences in genetic and environmental components of variance across age and sex. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby030 article

Pahlen, S., Hamdi, N. R., Dahl Aslan, A. K., Horwitz, B. N., Panizzon, M. S., Petersen, I., Zavala, C., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Gatz, M., Johnson, W., Kremen, W. S., Krueger, R. F., Neiderhiser, J. M., Reynolds, C. A., Pedersen, N. L., & McGue, M. (2018). Age-Moderation of Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Cognitive Functioning in Mid- and Late-Life for Specific Cognitive Abilities. Intelligence, 68, 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.12.004  article

Ericsson, M., Lundholm, C., Fors, S., Dahl Aslan, A. K., Zavala, C., Reynolds, C. A., & Pedersen, N. L. (2017). Childhood social class and cognitive aging in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(27), 7001–7006. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620603114  article

Petkus, A. J., Beam, C. R., Johnson, W., Kaprio, J., Korhonen, T., McGue, M., Neiderhiser, J. M., Pedersen, N. L., Reynolds, C. A., Gatz, M., & IGEMS Consortium (2017). Gene-environment interplay in depressive symptoms: moderation by age, sex, and physical illness. Psychological medicine, 47(10), 1836–1847. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000290 article scripts

Franz, C. E., Finkel, D., Panizzon, M. S., Spoon, K., Christensen, K., Gatz, M., Kremen, W. S., Krueger, R., Neiderhiser, J., Reynolds, C., Pedersen, N. L., & IGEMS consortium (2017). Facets of Subjective Health From Early Adulthood to Old Age. Journal of aging and health, 29(1), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264315625488 article

Mosing, M. A., Cnattingius, S., Gatz, M., Neiderhiser, J. M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2016). Associations Between Fetal Growth and Self-Perceived Health Throughout Adulthood: A Co-twin Control Study. Behavior genetics, 46(3), 457–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9776-9 article

Reynolds, C. A., Gatz, M., Christensen, K., Christiansen, L., Dahl Aslan, A. K., Kaprio, J., Korhonen, T., Kremen, W. S., Krueger, R., McGue, M., Neiderhiser, J. M., Pedersen, N. L., & Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) consortium (2016). Gene-Environment Interplay in Physical, Psychological, and Cognitive Domains in Mid to Late Adulthood: Is APOE a Variability Gene?. Behavior genetics, 46(1), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9761-3 article

Petersen, I., Pedersen, N. L., Rantanen, T., Kremen, W. S., Johnson, W., Panizzon, M. S., Christiansen, L., Franz, C. E., McGue, M., Christensen, K., Hamdi, N. R., Krueger, R. F., & Reynolds, C. (2016). G×E Interaction Influences Trajectories of Hand Grip Strength. Behavior genetics, 46(1), 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9736-4 article

Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., Horwitz, B., Christensen, K., Gatz, M., Johnson, W., Kaprio, J., Korhonen, T., Niederheiser, J., Petersen, I., Rose, R. J., & Silventoinen, K. (2016). Gender Differences in Marital Status Moderation of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Subjective Health. Behavior genetics, 46, 114–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9758-y article

Reynolds, C.A., & Finkel, D. (2016). Cognitive and physical aging: Genetic influences and gene-environment interplay (pp.125-146). In W. K. Schaie & S. L. Willis, Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 8th Edition. New York: Elsevier.

Gatz, M., Reynolds, C. A., Finkel, D., Hahn, C. J., Zhou, Y., & Zavala, C. (2015). Data Harmonization in Aging Research: Not so Fast. Experimental Aging Research, 41(5), 475–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2015.1085748 article

Pedersen, N. L., & Gerritsen, L. (2015). Genetics of brain and cognitive aging: introduction to the special issue of Neuropsychology Review. Neuropsychology review, 25(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-015-9282-0 article

Reynolds, C. A., & Finkel, D. (2015). A meta-analysis of heritability of cognitive aging: Minding the “missing heritability” gap. Neuropsychology Review, 25(1), 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-015-9280-2 article

Reynolds, C.A., Finkel, D., & Zavala, C. (2014). Gene by environment interplay in cognitive aging (pp. 169-199). In D. Finkel and C.A. Reynolds (Eds.) Behavior Genetics of Cognition Across the Lifespan. Springer.

Beam, C. R., Bakulski, K. M., Zandi, E., Turkheimer, E., Lynch, M., Gold, A. I., … & Davis, D. W. (2024). Epigenome-wide association study of loneliness in a sample of US middle-aged twins. Epigenetics, 19(1), 2427999.

Vo, T., Franz, C., Gillespie, N., Kremen, W., Lyons, M., Reynolds, C., … & Panizzon, M. (2025, May). A Co-Twin Control Study of Sleep Quality and Cognition. In SLEEP (Vol. 48, pp. A58-A58). JOURNALS DEPT, 2001 EVANS RD, CARY, NC 27513 USA: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC.

Vella, A. S., Selwood, A., Catts, V. S., Numbers, K. T., Lee, T., Thalamuthu, A., Karlsson, I. K., Reynolds, C. A., Franz, C. E., Kremen, W. S., Gatz, M., & Sachdev, P. S. (2024). Subjective cognitive complaints: Heritability and correlations with dementia diagnosis, depression and memory, across multiple twin studies. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 20, e088371. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.088371

Ericsson, M., Pedersen, N., L., Nygaard, M., Reynolds, C., A., Sachdev, P., Thalamuthu, A., Gatz, M. (2024). Establishing the contributions of attained education and the polygenic index for attained education to likelihood of dementia. Poster

Walters, E. E., Luczak, S. E., Beam, C. R., Nygaard, M., Plassman, B., Reynolds, C., Sachdev, P., Thalamuthu, A., Pedersen, N. L., & Gatz, M. (2024). Applying a co-twin control design to clarifying the relationship between education and dementia. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Panizzon, M. S., Karlsson, I. K., Ericsson, M., Nygaard, M., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N. L., & Kremen, W. S. (2024). A Lifespan Perspective on Cognitive Reserve and Risk for Dementia. PowerPoint Presentation

Nygaard, M., Panizzon, M. S., Kremen, W. S., Mortensen, E. L., Osler, M., & Christensen, K. (2024). Influence of young adult cognitive ability on the association between lifetime education and later-life cognitive function – a study in Danish twins. Poster

Finch, B. K., Mosing, M., Reynolds, C., Pedersen, N., Finkel, D., Gatz, M., Catts, V. (2023). The Validity of Self-Rated Health for Mortality: Family-Background and Genetic Precursors. Behavior Genetics, 53, 445-446. abstract

Finkel D, Ericsson M (2023 GSA). Within and between pair differences indicate genetic effects of SES indicators on Longitudinal change in physical aging. abstract

Nygaard, M., Finkel, D., Plassman, B.L, McGue, M. (2023). A Biometric Investigation of Leisure-Time Activities Across IGEMS Studies with a Focus on Moderation by Sex, Age, and Country. abstract

Finch, B.K., Thomas, K., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N., Ericsson, M., Mosing, M., Finkel, D. (2022). Are Education/Mortality Disparities Widening in Countries Other Than the US?: Twin-Differenced Models of Age and Cohort in IGEMS. abstract

Finkel, D. (2022). Genetic Architecture of Self-rated Health: Relationship with Physical Health, Cognition Function, and Depression. In Behavior Genetics (Vol. 52, No. 6, pp. 359-359). abstract

Finkel, D. & Ernsth-Bravell, M. (2020). Cohort by education interactions in longitudinal changes in functional abilities. Journal of Aging and Health, 32, 208-215. abstract

Finkel, D., & Ernsth-Bravell, M. (2018). Cohort By Education Differences In Longitudinal Change In Functional Ability. Innovation in Aging, 2 (Suppl 1), 477. abstract

Finkel, D., & Gatz, M. (2022). Genetic architecture of subjective health: Relationship with physical health, cognition, and depression. Innovation in Aging 6(1), 448. abstract

Finch, B., Thomas, K., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N., Ericsson, M., Mosing, M., & Finkel, D. (2022). Are education/mortality disparities widening in countries other than the US?: Twin-differenced models of age and cohort in IGEMS. Behavior Genetics, 52(6), 358-359. abstract

Finkel, D., for the IGEMS Consortium (2022). Genetic architecture of self-rated health: Relationship with physical health, cognition function, and depression. Behavior Genetics, 52(6), 359. abstract

Vo, T., Pahlen, S., Kremen, W.S., McGue, M., Dahl Aslan, A.K., Nygaard, M., Christensen, K., Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium (2022). Gene-environmental interplay of verbal fluency and episodic memory: Evaluating moderation by sleep duration and educational attainment. Behavior Genetics, 52(6), 397. abstract

Finch, B. (2021). Social mobility and the genome: Testing a unified stratification theory. Presented at Integrating Genetics and the Social Sciences Conference. Boulder, CO.

Pahlen, S., Franz, C.E., Kremen, W.S., Dahl Aslan, A K., Lee, T., Sachdev, P., Catts, V.S., & Reynolds, C A., for the IGEMS Consortium (2021). Genetic and environmental moderation of cognitive performance by smoking behavior. Behavior Genetics, 51(6), 731-732. abstract

Vo, T.T., Pahlen, S., Kremen, W.S., Mc Gue, M., Dahl Aslan, A.K., Nygaard, M., & Reynolds, C.A. (2021). The consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies (IGEMS): Does sleep duration moderate genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive performance? Behavior Genetics, 51(6), 752. abstract

Gatz, M., Luczak, S.E., Pahlen, S., Lee, T., Nygaard, M., Panizzon, M.S., Plassman, B.L., Reynolds, C.A., & Whitfield, K.E., for the IGEMS Consortium (2020). Remember this: Harmonization of episodic memory measures across twin studies of aging. Behavior Genetics, 50, 455-456. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Vo, T., Pahlen, S., Kremen, W., McGue, M., & Reynolds, C.A. (2020). Testing for moderation of mid-life cognitive performance by sleep duration. Behavior Genetics, 50, 488. abstract

Gustavson, D.E., Panizzon, M.S., Kremen, W.S., Reynolds, C.A., Pahlen, S., Nygaard, M., Wod, M., Catts, V.S., Lee, T., Gatz, M., & Franz C.E. (2020). Genetic and environmental influences on semantic verbal fluency across midlife. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 16 (Supp 3):e037410. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.037410. abstract article

Kim, A.J., & Beam, C.R. (2020). Are life event differentially associated with dementia risk by gender? Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 16 (Issue S10):e038673. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.038673. abstract

Karlsson, I.K., Lehto, K., Reynolds, C.A., Dahl-Aslan, A.D. (2019), Age-dependent effects of body mass index on the risk of dementia. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 29, S180-181. abstract

Lehto, K., Karlsson, I.K., Gatz, M., Pedersen, N.L. (2019). Does depression in old age reflect prodromal dementia? A polygenic risk score approach in two longitudinal studies. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 29, S181-182. abstract

Luczak, S.E., Beam, C.R., Panizzon, M.S., Reynolds, C.A., Sachdev, P.S., & Gatz, M., for the IGEMS consortium (2019). Refining a latent dementia indicator for a multi-study consortium. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15(75), 483. poster

Karlsson, I., Escott-Price, V., Gatz, M., Hardy, J., Pedersen, N.L., Shoai, M., & Reynolds, C.A. (2019). Measuring heritable contributions to AD: Polygenic risk score analysis in biometric, SNP-based & AUC models in twins. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15 (7S, Part 25), P1307. poster abstract

Kim, A.J., Munoz, E. & Beam, C.R. (2019). Which life event domains are associated with dementia risk? Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15 (7S, Part 16), P821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.2937. poster abstract

Luo, J., Beam, C.R., Pike, C.J., Karlsson, I., & Gatz, M. (2019). Sex differences in dementia risk: The effects of prenatal testosterone exposure, APOE4, and their interaction. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15 (7S, Part 22), P1183-1184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.3585. poster abstract

Catts, V., Thalamuthu, A., Lee, T., Crawford, J., & Sachdev, P. (2019). Heritability of subjective cognitive decline in Older Australian Twins. Behavior Genetics, 49, 516. poster abstract

Ericsson, M., Pedersen, N.L., Fors, S., Kuja-Halkola, R., Mosing, M., Li, X., Jylhava, J., & Dahl Aslan, A. (2019). Frailty and mortality: Sex differences and socioeconomic influences in Swedish twins. Behavior Genetics, 49, 523. poster abstract

Finkel, D., & Ernsth Bravell, M. (2019). Genetic influences on lung function contribute to subsequent age changes in motor and cognitive function. Behavior Genetics, 49, 492. abstract

Kim, A., Munoz, E. & Beam, C.R. (2019). Common genetic and shared environmental confounds in the association between stressful life events and dementia. Behavior Genetics, 49, 502. poster abstract

Lehto, K., Karlsson, I., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N.L. (2019). Does depression in old age reflect prodromal dementia? A polygenic risk score approach. Behavior Genetics, 49, 512. abstract

Pahlen, S., Kremen, W.S., Reynolds, C., and the IGEMS consortium (2019). Smoking behaviors and cognitive functioning in mid-to late-adulthood: Gene-environment interplay. Behavior Genetics, 49, 550. abstract

Phillips, D., Wang, Y., Pedersen, N.L., Hagg, S., & Reynolds C. (2019). Loneliness and DNA methylation of variants in the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) pathway. Behavior Genetics, 49, 532. abstract

Reynolds, C., Tan, Q., Munoz, E., Jylhava, J., Hjelmborg, J., Christiansen, L., Hagg, S., & Pedersen, N.L. (2019). 10-year epigenetic change: Age-associated CpGs are differentially heritable. Behavior Genetics, 49, 527. abstract

Zavala, C., Arpawong, T., & Prescott, C. (2019). You are only as old as you feel. Behavior Genetics, 49, 516. abstract

Ericsson, M., Pedersen, N.L., Fors, S., Kuja-Halkola, R., Mosing, M., Li, X., Jylhava, J. & Dahl Aslan, A. (2019, May). Frailty and mortality: Investigating sex differences and socioeconomic influences using Swedish twins. Poster presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. poster

Finkel, D. (2019, May). Longitudinal relationships between cognitive and functional aging. Paper presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. abstract

Jylhava, J., Raymond, E., Reynolds, C., Finkel, D., Ericsson, M., Dahl Aslan, A., Hagg, S., & Pedersen, N. (2019, May). Drivers of frailty from adulthood into old age: Results from a 27-year longitudinal population-based study in Sweden. Paper presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. abstract

Nyman, R., & Finkel, D. (2019, May). Living urban or rural in late adulthood: What is important and what is the difference? Poster presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. poster

Pedersen, N.L. & Dahl Aslan, A. (2019, May). Gene-environment interplay to explain health heterogeneity: Results from the Swedish Twin Registry. Paper presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. abstract

Pedersen J.K. & Christensen, K. (2019, May). Medication in the last years of life: A population-based comparison of two Danish birth cohorts ten years apart. Paper presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden. abstract

Gatz, M., Finch, B., Beam, C., & Thomas, K., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2018). Interplay of a country’s income inequality in childhood and adult depressive symptoms. Behavior Genetics, 48, 472. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Mosing, M., Dahlstrom, V., Lehto, K., & Pedersen, N.L., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2018). Associations between loneliness, social isolation and mortality in older twins: Familial confounding? Behavior Genetics, 48, 499. abstract

Munoz, E., & Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2018). Life event severity moderates genetic influences on cognitive function. Behavior Genetics, 48, 500. abstract

Pahlen, S., & Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2018). The relationship between smoking, years of education, and cognitive functioning in mid- and late-life: A co-twin control study. Behavior Genetics, 48, 504-505. abstract

Foebel, A., Pedersen, N., & Bravell, M.E. (2017). Self-rated health over time: The role of chronic disease, physical function and social networks. Innovation in Aging, 1, 982. abstract

Franz, C., Yao, A., Panizzon, M., & Kremen, W. (2017). Genetic and environmental influences on medical burden and subjective health in midlife. Innovation in Aging, 1, 982. abstract

Finkel, D., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2017). Sex differences in longitudinal changes in genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. Innovation in Aging, 1, 982. abstract

Mosing, M., & Pedersen, N. (2017). Can genetic variants underlying subjective well-being predict age-related health problems? Innovation in Aging, 1, 982. abstract

Finkel, D., Reynolds, C., & Zavala, C., (2017). Age and sex moderation of genetic and environmental influences on a harmonized measure of financial stain: IGEMS. Behavior Genetics, 47, 687. abstract

Finkel, D., & Zavala C., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2016). Sex differences in financial strain moderation of genetic influences on subjective health. The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl 3), 339. abstract

Munoz, E., & Reynolds, C., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2016). The role of life events on cognitive function among older adults. The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl 3), 380-381. abstract

Mosing, M., Cnattingius, S., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. (2016). Associations between adverse birth characteristics, cognitive dysfunction and dementia late in life. The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl 3), 386. abstract

Phillips, D.M., & Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2016). Exploring potential mechanisms for the association between loneliness and cognition. The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl 3), 534. abstract Poster

Phillips, D.M., Petkus, A.J., Johnson, W., Franz, C., & Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium (2015). Exploring a potential role for education in the relation between loneliness and cognition. The Gerontologist, 55(Suppl 2), NP. abstract Poster

Gatz, M., Petkus, A., Reynolds, C.A., Franz, C., Kaprio, J., & Christensen, K. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2015). Age moderation of individual differences in chronic medical illness burden. Behavior Genetics, 45, 657. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Mosing, M.A., Cnattingius, S., Gatz, M., Neiderhiser, J.M., & Pedersen, N.L. (2015). Associations between fetal growth and self-perceived health throughout adulthood: A co-twin control study. Behavior Genetics, 45, 675. abstract

Horwitz, B.N., Marceau, K.P., & Neiderhiser, J.M. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2015). Genetic and environmental influences on marital quality: Examining age, country and construct differences. Behavior Genetics, 45, 675-676. abstract

Phillips, D.M., Petkus, A., McGue, M., & Reynolds, C.A., for the IGEMS Consortium. (2015). Testing for age moderation of heritability of loneliness across adulthood. Behavior Genetics, 45, 679-680. abstract

Vasilopoulos, T., Franz, C.E., Finkel, D., McGue, M., Kaprio, J., & Pedersen, N.L. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2015). Smoking moderates the importance of genetic and environmental influences on lung function. Behavior Genetics, 45, 691. abstract

Petkus, A., Reynolds, C.A., Gatz, M., Wetherell, J., Kremen, W.S., & Pedersen, N.L. (2014). Anxiety and dementia in older Swedish twins. The Gerontologist, 54(S2), 588. abstract

Reynolds, C.A. for the IGEMS consortium. (2014). Gene-environment interplay contributes to health, well-being and cognitive performance in mid to late adulthood. The Gerontologist, 54(S2) 647. abstract

Zavala, C., Johnson, W., & Reynolds, C.A. for the IGEMS consortium. (2014). Socioeconomic status and age as moderators of cognitive performance. The Gerontologist, 54(S2) 647. abstract

Petersen, I., Christensen, K., McGue, K., & Reynolds, C.A. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2014). Gene-by-environment interaction partly explains the hand grip strength levels as well as decline. The Gerontologist, 54(S2) 647. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Finkel, D., Franz, C.E., & Horwitz, B. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2014). Marital status moderates gender differences in genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. The Gerontologist, 54(S2) 647. abstract

Finkel, D., Franz, C., Horwitz, B., & IGEMS Consortium. (2014). Gender and age differences in the impact of marital status on genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. Behavior Genetics, 44, 658. abstract

Petersen, I., Christensen, K., McGue, M., Reynolds, C., & IGEMS consortium. (2014). Contribution of gene-by-environment interaction at baseline and change of hand grip strength. Behavior Genetics, 44, 677. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Reynolds, C. & IGEMS Consortium. (2014). MZ within pair tests of gene-environment interaction: Examinations of health, well-being and cognitive performance. Behavior Genetics, 44, 679. abstract

Zavala, C., Johnson, W., Kremen, W., & Reynolds, C. (2014). Socioeconomic status moderates cognitive performance in older adults: Variation by country and sex. Behavior Genetics, 44, 689. abstract

Finkel, D., Franz, C. E., & Horwitz, B. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2014, May). Gene by environment interactions impacting subjective health in the IGEMS sample. Nordic Congress of Gerontology, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Reynolds, C.A. & Pedersen, N.L. (2014, May). Gene-environment dynamics contribute to cognitive and depressive symptom trajectories. Nordic Congress of Gerontology, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Petersen, I., Pedersen, N.L., McGue, M., Christensen, K., & Reynolds, C.A. for the IGEMS Consortium. (2014, May). Longitudinal study of hand grip strength in a large sample of twins from USA, Sweden, and Denmark. Nordic Congress of Gerontology, Gothenburg, Sweden. PowerPoint Presentation

Pahlen, S., McGue, M., Reynolds, C.A., & Kremen, W.S. for the IGEMS Consortium (2014, April). Age moderation of genetic and environmental influences on cognitive functioning across the life span: Findings from the Consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS). Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Gatz, M. for the IGEMS Consortium (2013). Harmonizing measures of depressive symptoms: the IGEMS consortium. Behavior Genetics, 43, 519. abstract PowerPoint Presentation

Reynolds, C., & Pedersen, N. (2013). GxE contributions to cognitive aging: An MZ twin pair comparison. Behavior Genetics, 43, 537. abstract poster

Johnson, W., Dahl, A., Pedersen, N., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Gatz, M., Johansson, B., Lichtenstein, P., McGue, M., Neiderhiser, J., Reynolds, C., Hahn, C., Zavala, C., & Zhou, Y. (2012). Education moderates genetic and environmental influences on body mass index: Findings from the consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS). The Gerontologist, 52(S1), 793. abstract poster

Pedersen, N.L., Christensen, K., Dahl, A.K., Finkel, D., Franz, C.E., Gatz, M., Horwitz, B.N., Johansson, B., Johnson, W., Kremen, W.S., Lyons, M.J., Malmberg, B., McGue, M., Neiderhiser, J.M., Petersen, I., Reynolds, C.A., Dahl, A., Hahn, C., De Araujo-Held, M., Horwitz, B., Petersen, I., Zavala, C., & Zhou, Y. (2012). Gene–environment interplay in adult depression symptomatology: Initial findings from IGEMS. Behavior Genetics, 42, 926. abstract poster

IGEMS in the News

Ojalehto, E., Zhan, Y., Jylhävä, J., Reynolds, C. A., Dahl Aslan, A. K., & Karlsson, I. K. (2023). Genetically and environmentally predicted obesity in relation to cardiovascular disease: a nationwide cohort study. EClinicalMedicine, 58, 101943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101943

Finkel, D., Hyde, M., Hasselgren, C., Sacco, L., Sindi, S., & Nilsen, C. (2025). Both childhood and adult perceived financial strain impact age trajectories of change in emotional health in late adulthood. Aging & Mental Health, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2464709

Resource Sharing

Petkus, A. & Gatz, M. (2024, October 30). Terminal increases in depressive symptoms in a multinational twin consortium.

Harmonized Variables in IGEMS

Socio-economic Status

Education
International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) [twin, spouse, parent]

Occupation

International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) [twin,spouse, parent]
International Socio-Economic Index of occupational status (ISEI)  [twin,spouse, parent]
Treiman’s Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale [twin and spouse]
Subjective Financial Strain

Physical Health

Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS)
BMI, height, and weight
Grip Strength
Subjective Health

Cognitive Health

Animal naming (verbal fluency)
Block design
Digit span forward
Digit span backward
MMSE
Prose recall
Symbol digit
Synonyms
Vocabulary
Word list recall
Clinically diagnosed dementia
Latent dementia indicator (LDI)

Emotional Health

Anxiety symptoms
Depressive symptoms
Loneliness

Health Behaviors

Alcohol use
Cognitive complexity of occupation
Leisure activities:  physical/intellectual/social
Sleep
Smoking

Social Resources

Live Alone
Live with Twin

Call for Proposals

IGEMS is pleased to announce a competition for funded pilot projects (FY27) that will use IGEMS data for analysis.

The Call for Proposals, Application Checklist, and list of Harmonized Variables are provided below. We encourage everyone to watch the Introduction to IGEMS Data and Studies video as well. Proposals are due by 1 December 2026 5pm Pacific Time.

Call for Proposals

Application Checklist

Harmonized Variable List

Intro to IGEMS Data Video

Contact Us

If you are interested in working with the IGEMS research team and/or would like more information about getting access to the IGEMS data consortium, please contact us at the following email address:

[email protected]