Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins: An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts

Karri Silventoinen; Leonie H. Bogl; Aline Jelenkovic; Eero Vuoksimaa; Antti Latvala; Weilong Li; Qihua Tan; Dongfeng Zhang; Zengchang Pang; Juan R. Ordoñana; Juan F. Sánchez-Romera; Lucia Colodro-Conde; Gonneke Willemsen; Meike Bartels; Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt; Esther Rebato; Robin P. Corley; Brooke M. Huibregtse; John L. Hopper; Jessica Tyler; Glen E. Duncan; Dedra Buchwald; Judy L. Silberg; Hermine H. Maes; Christian Kandler; Wendy Cozen; Amie E. Hwang; Thomas M. Mack; Tracy L. Nelson; Keith E. Whitfield; Emanuela Medda; Lorenza Nisticò; Virgilia Toccaceli; Robert F. Krueger; Matt McGue; Shandell Pahlen; Nicholas G. Martin; Sarah E. Medland; Grant W. Montgomery; Kauko Heikkilä; Catherine A. Derom; Robert F. Vlietinck; Ruth J.F. Loos; Patrik K.E. Magnusson; Nancy L. Pedersen; Anna K. Dahl Aslan; Matthew Hotopf; Athula Sumathipala; Fruhling Rijsdijk; Sisira H. Siribaddana; Richard J. Rose; Thorkild I.A. Sørensen; Dorret I. Boomsma; Jaakko Kaprio

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054

Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins: An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts

Karri Silventoinen, Leonie H. Bogl, Aline Jelenkovic, Eero Vuoksimaa, Antti Latvala, Weilong Li, Qihua Tan, Dongfeng Zhang, Zengchang Pang, Juan R. Ordoñana, Juan F. Sánchez-Romera, Lucia Colodro-Conde, Gonneke Willemsen, Meike Bartels, Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt, Esther Rebato, Robin P. Corley, Brooke M. Huibregtse, John L. Hopper, Jessica TylerGlen E. Duncan, Dedra Buchwald, Judy L. Silberg, Hermine H. Maes, Christian Kandler, Wendy Cozen, Amie E. Hwang, Thomas M. Mack, Tracy L. Nelson, Keith E. Whitfield, Emanuela Medda, Lorenza Nisticò, Virgilia Toccaceli, Robert F. Krueger, Matt McGue, Shandell Pahlen, Nicholas G. Martin, Sarah E. Medland, Grant W. Montgomery, Kauko Heikkilä, Catherine A. Derom, Robert F. Vlietinck, Ruth J.F. Loos, Patrik K.E. Magnusson, Nancy L. Pedersen, Anna K. Dahl Aslan, Matthew Hotopf, Athula Sumathipala, Fruhling Rijsdijk, Sisira H. Siribaddana, Richard J. Rose, Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, Dorret I. Boomsma, Jaakko Kaprio

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. Thus, we established an international database of twin data from 11 countries with 88,290 individual dizygotic twins born over 100 years and tested for differences between twins from same- and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs in educational attainment. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by linear regression models after adjusting for birth year and twin study cohort. In contrast to the hypothesis, no difference was found in women (β = −0.05 educational years, 95% CI −0.11, 0.02). However, men with a same-sex co-twin were slightly more educated than men having an opposite-sex co-twin (β = 0.14 educational years, 95% CI 0.07, 0.21). No consistent differences in effect sizes were found between individual twin study cohorts representing Europe, the USA, and Australia or over the cohorts born during the 20th century, during which period the sex differences in education reversed favoring women in the latest birth cohorts. Further, no interaction was found with maternal or paternal education. Our results contradict the hypothesis that there would be differences in the intrauterine testosterone levels between same-sex and opposite-sex female twins affecting education. Our findings in men may point to social dynamics within same-sex twin pairs that may benefit men in their educational careers.

Original language	English
Article number	105054
Journal	Hormones and Behavior
Volume	136
ISSN	0018-506X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054
Publication status	Published - Nov 2021
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

Education
Testosterone exposure
Twin testosterone transfer hypothesis
Twins
1182 Biochemistry, cell and molecular biology
5141 Sociology

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Cite this

Silventoinen, K., Bogl, L. H., Jelenkovic, A., Vuoksimaa, E., Latvala, A., Li, W., Tan, Q., Zhang, D., Pang, Z., Ordoñana, J. R., Sánchez-Romera, J. F., Colodro-Conde, L., Willemsen, G., Bartels, M., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., Rebato, E., Corley, R. P., Huibregtse, B. M., Hopper, J. L., ... Kaprio, J. (2021). Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins: An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts. Hormones and Behavior, 136, Article 105054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054

@article{230b90f5f7174684a308676835185e00,

title = "Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins: An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts",

abstract = "Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. Thus, we established an international database of twin data from 11 countries with 88,290 individual dizygotic twins born over 100 years and tested for differences between twins from same- and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs in educational attainment. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by linear regression models after adjusting for birth year and twin study cohort. In contrast to the hypothesis, no difference was found in women (β = −0.05 educational years, 95% CI −0.11, 0.02). However, men with a same-sex co-twin were slightly more educated than men having an opposite-sex co-twin (β = 0.14 educational years, 95% CI 0.07, 0.21). No consistent differences in effect sizes were found between individual twin study cohorts representing Europe, the USA, and Australia or over the cohorts born during the 20th century, during which period the sex differences in education reversed favoring women in the latest birth cohorts. Further, no interaction was found with maternal or paternal education. Our results contradict the hypothesis that there would be differences in the intrauterine testosterone levels between same-sex and opposite-sex female twins affecting education. Our findings in men may point to social dynamics within same-sex twin pairs that may benefit men in their educational careers.",

keywords = "Education, Testosterone exposure, Twin testosterone transfer hypothesis, Twins, 1182 Biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, 5141 Sociology",

author = "Karri Silventoinen and Bogl, {Leonie H.} and Aline Jelenkovic and Eero Vuoksimaa and Antti Latvala and Weilong Li and Qihua Tan and Dongfeng Zhang and Zengchang Pang and Ordo{\~n}ana, {Juan R.} and S{\'a}nchez-Romera, {Juan F.} and Lucia Colodro-Conde and Gonneke Willemsen and Meike Bartels and {van Beijsterveldt}, {Catharina E.M.} and Esther Rebato and Corley, {Robin P.} and Huibregtse, {Brooke M.} and Hopper, {John L.} and Jessica Tyler and Duncan, {Glen E.} and Dedra Buchwald and Silberg, {Judy L.} and Maes, {Hermine H.} and Christian Kandler and Wendy Cozen and Hwang, {Amie E.} and Mack, {Thomas M.} and Nelson, {Tracy L.} and Whitfield, {Keith E.} and Emanuela Medda and Lorenza Nistic{\`o} and Virgilia Toccaceli and Krueger, {Robert F.} and Matt McGue and Shandell Pahlen and Martin, {Nicholas G.} and Medland, {Sarah E.} and Montgomery, {Grant W.} and Kauko Heikkil{\"a} and Derom, {Catherine A.} and Vlietinck, {Robert F.} and Loos, {Ruth J.F.} and Magnusson, {Patrik K.E.} and Pedersen, {Nancy L.} and {Dahl Aslan}, {Anna K.} and Matthew Hotopf and Athula Sumathipala and Fruhling Rijsdijk and Siribaddana, {Sisira H.} and Rose, {Richard J.} and S{\o}rensen, {Thorkild I.A.} and Boomsma, {Dorret I.} and Jaakko Kaprio",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054",

language = "English",

volume = "136",

journal = "Hormones and Behavior",

issn = "0018-506X",

publisher = "Elsevier Scientific Publ. Co",

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Silventoinen, K , Bogl, LH, Jelenkovic, A, Vuoksimaa, E , Latvala, A, Li, W, Tan, Q, Zhang, D, Pang, Z, Ordoñana, JR, Sánchez-Romera, JF, Colodro-Conde, L, Willemsen, G, Bartels, M, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Rebato, E, Corley, RP, Huibregtse, BM, Hopper, JL, Tyler, J, Duncan, GE, Buchwald, D, Silberg, JL, Maes, HH, Kandler, C, Cozen, W, Hwang, AE, Mack, TM, Nelson, TL, Whitfield, KE, Medda, E, Nisticò, L, Toccaceli, V, Krueger, RF, McGue, M, Pahlen, S, Martin, NG, Medland, SE, Montgomery, GW, Heikkilä, K, Derom, CA, Vlietinck, RF, Loos, RJF, Magnusson, PKE, Pedersen, NL, Dahl Aslan, AK, Hotopf, M, Sumathipala, A, Rijsdijk, F, Siribaddana, SH, Rose, RJ, Sørensen, TIA, Boomsma, DI & Kaprio, J 2021, 'Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins: An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts', Hormones and Behavior, vol. 136, 105054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054

TY - JOUR

T1 - Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins

T2 - An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts

AU - Silventoinen, Karri

AU - Bogl, Leonie H.

AU - Jelenkovic, Aline

AU - Vuoksimaa, Eero

AU - Latvala, Antti

AU - Li, Weilong

AU - Tan, Qihua

AU - Zhang, Dongfeng

AU - Pang, Zengchang

AU - Ordoñana, Juan R.

AU - Sánchez-Romera, Juan F.

AU - Colodro-Conde, Lucia

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

AU - Bartels, Meike

AU - van Beijsterveldt, Catharina E.M.

AU - Rebato, Esther

AU - Corley, Robin P.

AU - Huibregtse, Brooke M.

AU - Hopper, John L.

AU - Tyler, Jessica

AU - Duncan, Glen E.

AU - Buchwald, Dedra

AU - Silberg, Judy L.

AU - Maes, Hermine H.

AU - Kandler, Christian

AU - Cozen, Wendy

AU - Hwang, Amie E.

AU - Mack, Thomas M.

AU - Nelson, Tracy L.

AU - Whitfield, Keith E.

AU - Medda, Emanuela

AU - Nisticò, Lorenza

AU - Toccaceli, Virgilia

AU - Krueger, Robert F.

AU - McGue, Matt

AU - Pahlen, Shandell

AU - Martin, Nicholas G.

AU - Medland, Sarah E.

AU - Montgomery, Grant W.

AU - Heikkilä, Kauko

AU - Derom, Catherine A.

AU - Vlietinck, Robert F.

AU - Loos, Ruth J.F.

AU - Magnusson, Patrik K.E.

AU - Pedersen, Nancy L.

AU - Dahl Aslan, Anna K.

AU - Hotopf, Matthew

AU - Sumathipala, Athula

AU - Rijsdijk, Fruhling

AU - Siribaddana, Sisira H.

AU - Rose, Richard J.

AU - Sørensen, Thorkild I.A.

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

AU - Kaprio, Jaakko

PY - 2021/11

Y1 - 2021/11

N2 - Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. Thus, we established an international database of twin data from 11 countries with 88,290 individual dizygotic twins born over 100 years and tested for differences between twins from same- and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs in educational attainment. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by linear regression models after adjusting for birth year and twin study cohort. In contrast to the hypothesis, no difference was found in women (β = −0.05 educational years, 95% CI −0.11, 0.02). However, men with a same-sex co-twin were slightly more educated than men having an opposite-sex co-twin (β = 0.14 educational years, 95% CI 0.07, 0.21). No consistent differences in effect sizes were found between individual twin study cohorts representing Europe, the USA, and Australia or over the cohorts born during the 20th century, during which period the sex differences in education reversed favoring women in the latest birth cohorts. Further, no interaction was found with maternal or paternal education. Our results contradict the hypothesis that there would be differences in the intrauterine testosterone levels between same-sex and opposite-sex female twins affecting education. Our findings in men may point to social dynamics within same-sex twin pairs that may benefit men in their educational careers.

AB - Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. Thus, we established an international database of twin data from 11 countries with 88,290 individual dizygotic twins born over 100 years and tested for differences between twins from same- and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs in educational attainment. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by linear regression models after adjusting for birth year and twin study cohort. In contrast to the hypothesis, no difference was found in women (β = −0.05 educational years, 95% CI −0.11, 0.02). However, men with a same-sex co-twin were slightly more educated than men having an opposite-sex co-twin (β = 0.14 educational years, 95% CI 0.07, 0.21). No consistent differences in effect sizes were found between individual twin study cohorts representing Europe, the USA, and Australia or over the cohorts born during the 20th century, during which period the sex differences in education reversed favoring women in the latest birth cohorts. Further, no interaction was found with maternal or paternal education. Our results contradict the hypothesis that there would be differences in the intrauterine testosterone levels between same-sex and opposite-sex female twins affecting education. Our findings in men may point to social dynamics within same-sex twin pairs that may benefit men in their educational careers.

KW - Education

KW - Testosterone exposure

KW - Twin testosterone transfer hypothesis

KW - Twins

KW - 1182 Biochemistry, cell and molecular biology

KW - 5141 Sociology

U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054

DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105054

M3 - Article

C2 - 34488063

AN - SCOPUS:85114142536

SN - 0018-506X

VL - 136

JO - Hormones and Behavior

JF - Hormones and Behavior

M1 - 105054

ER -