Study Annoucement from McGill University:
Are you a parent of a twin or twins with food allergy? Are you an adult twin with food allergy?
A current study is underway at McGill University Health Centre in Montreal which looks at the role genes play in the development of food allergy.
Our research team, led by Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan of the division of allergy and immunology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, part of the McGill University Health Centre, are looking at the role played by genes (many of which are the same between twins) in the development of food allergy. We would like to invite you to participate in a research study we are conducting.
Participation will involve the completion of a questionnaire related to food allergy, as well as the environmental and medical aspects of the twins and their sibling (s) early experiences, and past and present diet. This secure online questionnaire should take about 15 minutes to complete. We will also require a small saliva sample from each twin and medical confirmation of food allergies to help us understand how genetic and environmental factors interact with food allergies.
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may refuse to participate or you may discontinue your participation at any time without explanation. All information obtained during this study will be kept strictly confidential. The research data will be available only to the research team and to persons taking part in managing and analyzing the research information. Your saliva sample will only be used for this study and will be destroyed at the completion of the study. This study, START (Susceptibility To Food Allergy in a Registry of Twins), has been approved by the Research Ethics Board of the McGill University Health Centre who are also responsible for the oversight of the study.
To be eligible, participants must have received a food allergy diagnosis from an allergist, your family doctor or pediatrician and live in Canada. At least one twin must have a diagnosed food allergy. We recommend that you contact an allergist if you have questions about your or your children’s allergies.
This study is presently underway and will be accepting participants until December 31, 2016.
If you wish to participate in this study, or would like more information about the study, please contact Greg Shand, the study coordinator, at:
Tel: 514 934 -1934, extension 23867
Email: startmch@gmail.com or greg.shand@clinepi.mcgill.ca