抄録
The usefulness of twin studies as an approach to genetic study in the field of physiological anthropology is discussed.
Twin studies are used to investigate the heritability of multifactorial traits, including physiological traits.
The study of twins is also a powerful tool in molecular genetic studies, for example, in the detection of epigenetic
differences between monozygotic twin pairs. The importance of a life-course approach is also discussed. However, a
literature review showed that less than 5% of studies in physiological anthropology in Japan were genetic studies, and
very few of these were twin studies. More genetic studies are expected to be performed in the field of physiological
anthropology in the future.
