The mortality of twins: a case study using data from the French family surveys and the French Longitudinal Study (EDP)

Gilles Pison, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Nadège Couvert, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Twins children experience more health problems and a higher mortality than children born from single pregnancies at least at the early beginning of their life. Thanks to the data of the French Family surveys (1975, 1982, 1990, 1999) and to those of the French Longitudinal Study (EDP or Permanent Demographic Sample), this work aims at studying some aspects of the mortality of twins, to compare in particular the age at death between twins and singletons, as well as between members of a same twin pair, or to draw comparisons between monozygotic and dizigotic twins. Moreover it will allow us to evaluate risks of over-contamination between twins of the same pair, compared to an ordinary couple of sister and brother. Finally, EDP that follows individuals during their entire life course makes it possible for us to verify whether the overmortality of twins, compared to singletons, is really limited to early life.