Alcohol use in early midlife: Findings from the age 37 follow-up assessment of the FinnTwin12 cohort

This paper provides an overview of the most recent assessment, collected in early midlife, of the FinnTwin12 cohort, a population-based study of Finnish twins born in 1983-1987. The twins were invited to complete an online survey assessing a range of variables, including physical and mental health, alcohol use and problems, other substance use, and early midlife environments (e.g., parenthood). In total, 2,085 individuals (~40% of the original sample) completed the survey (551 complete twin pairs, 58.7% female, 37.3% monozygotic, age range = 34-39 years). Individuals who participated were more likely to be female, monozygotic, and have higher parental education and less hyperactivity/impulsivity and aggression at age 12 when compared to individuals who were invited but did not participate. Parental alcohol misuse and the twins’ alcohol use and misuse at age 14 were not related to study retention. Alcohol misuse in early midlife was positively associated with nicotine dependence, lifetime use of cannabis and other drugs, trauma exposure, and depressive symptoms, and negatively associated with physical health and having biological children. These new data expand upon the wealth of measures collected as part of previous assessments, expanding the scope of work on the etiology and correlates of alcohol misuse across within a longitudinal, genetically-informed framework. In addition to these new survey measures, we are planning an in-person assessment to collect physiological measurements and conduct additional in-depth phenotyping on a subset of twins who have been more intensively studied over the years.