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More than 200 million children aged <5 years fail to reach their full cognitive potential, and children born as twins are particularly at risk. In this article, we review studies that examined differences in the neurodevelopmental outcomes of twins compared to singletons. We searched the Medline database for articles on twins, singletons, neuro, and cognitive development. We also inspected bibliographies of relevant publications to identify related articles from 2011 to 2017. Our search criteria yielded 162 studies, 8 of which met the inclusion criteria. Of the eight studies examined, four were prospective follow-up studies, three were cross-sectional studies, and one was a randomized controlled trial. Five of these studies were carried out in developed countries, and they found no statistically significant difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes among twins and singletons. However, two of the three studies carried out in developing countries found a difference with singletons having significantly higher academic ratings than twins. Studies in which neurodevelopmental outcomes were measured early in life (1–5 years) showed no significant twin–singleton differences, while those in which it was measured later in life showed mixed twin–singleton differences. Overall, these studies may have been underpowered and may not have been optimally designed and implemented. There is need for studies with adequate sample sizes, good design, and optimal measurement of all relevant covariates in order to resolve the conflicting reports in the literature.

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Introduction: </strong>Retention of racial/ethnic minority groups into research trials is neces­sary to fully understand and address health disparities. This study was conducted to identify participants' characteristics associ­ated with retention of African Americans (AAs) in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a behavioral intervention.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Methods: </strong>Using data from an RCT con­ducted from 2009 to 2012 among AAs, participant-level factors were examined for associations with retention between three measurement points (ie, baseline, 3-month, and 12-month). Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare retained participants to those who were not retained in order to identify important predictors of retention.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>About 57% of participants (n=238) were retained at 12 months. Baseline char­acteristics that showed a statistically signifi­cant association with retention status were age, marital status, body mass index (BMI), intervention group, enrollment of a partner in the study, and perceived stress score (PSS). Multivariable logistic regression that adjusted for age, BMI, and PSS showed the odds of being retained among participants who enrolled with a partner was 2.95 (95% CI: 1.87-4.65) compared with participants who had no study partner enrolled. The odds of being retained among participants who were obese and morbidly obese were .32 and .27 (95% CI: .14-.74 and .11-.69), respectively, compared with participants who had normal weight.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Having a partner enrolled in behavioral interventions may improve retention of study participants. Researchers also need to be cognizant of participants' obesity status and potentially target reten­tion efforts toward these individuals. <em></em></p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2017;27(3):265-272; doi:10.18865/ed.27.3.265.</p><strong></strong>

<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Recruiting racial, ethnic, and other underserved minorities into conven­tional clinic-based and other trials is known to be challenging. The Sistas Inspiring Sistas Through Activity and Support (SISTAS) Pro­gram was a one-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) to promote physical activity and healthy eating among AA women in SC to reduce inflammatory biomarkers, which are linked to increased breast cancer (BrCa) risk and mortality. This study describes the development, recruitment, and imple­mentation of the SISTAS clinical trial and provides baseline characteristics of the study participants.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>SISTAS was developed using community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. At baseline, study participants completed assessments and underwent clinical measurements and blood draws to measure C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Participants randomized to the intervention received 12 weekly classes followed by nine monthly booster sessions. Post-intervention mea­surements were assessed at 12-week and 12-month follow-ups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We recruited a total of 337 women who tended to: be middle-aged (mean age 48.2 years); have some college education; be employed full-time; have Medicare as their primary insurance; be non-smokers; and perceive their personal health as good. On average, the women were pre-hyper­tensive at baseline (mean systolic blood pressure = 133.9 mm Hg; mean diastolic blood pressure = 84.0 mm Hg) and mor­bidly obese (mean BMI &gt;40.0 kg/m2); the mean fat mass and fat-free mass among participants were 106.4 lb and 121.0 lb, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The SISTAS RCT addresses some of the gaps in the literature with respect to CBPR interventions target­ing AA women, such as implementing diet and physical activity in CBPR-based studies to decrease BrCa risk.</p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2018;28(2):75-84; doi:10.18865/ ed.28.2.75.</p>