Stepping towards causation in studies of neighborhood and environmental effects: how twin research can overcome problems of selection and reverse causation

Glen E Duncan; Brianna Mills; Eric Strachan; Philip Hurvitz; Ruizhu Huang; Anne Vernez Moudon; Eric Turkheimer

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.02.008

Stepping towards causation in studies of neighborhood and environmental effects: how twin research can overcome problems of selection and reverse causation

Health Place. 2014 May:27:106-11. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.02.008. Epub 2014 Mar 3.

Authors

Glen E Duncan¹, Brianna Mills², Eric Strachan³, Philip Hurvitz⁴, Ruizhu Huang⁵, Anne Vernez Moudon⁶, Eric Turkheimer⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: duncag@u.washington.edu.
² Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁴ Department of Urban Design and Planning, Urban Form Lab, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁵ Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Urban Design and Planning, Urban Form Lab, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Urban Design and Planning, Urban Form Lab, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.

Abstract

No causal evidence is available to translate associations between neighborhood characteristics and health outcomes into beneficial changes to built environments. Observed associations may be causal or result from uncontrolled confounds related to family upbringing. Twin designs can help neighborhood effects studies overcome selection and reverse causation problems in specifying causal mechanisms. Beyond quantifying genetic effects (i.e., heritability coefficients), we provide examples of innovative measures and analytic methods that use twins as quasi-experimental controls for confounding by environmental effects. We conclude that collaboration among investigators from multiple fields can move the field forward by designing studies that step toward causation.

Keywords: Causality; Environment design; Lifestyle risk reduction; Social and built environments; Twin studies.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Causality
Environment Design / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Models, Theoretical
Patient Selection
Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data*
Risk Reduction Behavior
Twin Studies as Topic*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding