Nurses' Health Study
The objectives of the study aimed initially to ;
* Evaluate the relation between the use of oral contraceptives, cigarette smoking, and risk of major illnesses in women, mainly cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
* Evaluate the health consequences of many lifestyle practices, including diet, physical activity, and specific forms of estrogen replacement therapy.
Since then, the main objectives are to ;
* Understand how dietary patterns, lifestyle, environment, and nursing occupational exposures impact men's and women's health.
* Evaluate women's health issues related to new hormone preparations and fertility/pregnancy
* Focus on adolescent diet and breast cancer risk.
Overview
- Acronym
- NHS
- Website
- NHS
- Investigators
-
Dr. Jorge ChavarroHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolDr. Meir StampferHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolDr. Heather EliassenHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- Contacts
-
Dr. Heather EliassenHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
General Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Start - End Year
- 1976 -
- General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
-
Participants of NHS I and NHS II cohort were followed-up every 2 years. Participants are now (NHS III) followed-up regularly through smartphones, apps, and wearable devices to collect detailed real-time data.
- Recruitment Target
-
- Individuals
- Number of Participants
- 338,129
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 124,869
Marker Papers
Colditz GA, Manson JE, Hankinson SE. The Nurses' Health Study: 20-year contribution to the understanding of health among women. Journal of women’s health, 1997; 6(1): 49-62.
PUBMED 9065374Bao Y, Bertoia ML, Lenart EB, et al. Origin, Methods, and Evolution of the Three Nurses' Health Studies. Am J Public Health. 2016 Sep;106(9):1573-81. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303338. Epub 2016 Jul 26.
PUBMED 27459450Timeline
Populations
NHS I
The population is composed of registered nurses, aged 30 to 55 years and married at the time of recruitment in 1976 living in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Selection Criteria
- Gender
-
Women only
- Minimum age
-
30
- Maximum age
-
55
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Territory
-
California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
- Other Criteria
- Both premenopausal and postmenopausal women (mainly Caucasian) who had no history of cancer were included in the study population.
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
-
- Members of an association
- Supplementary Information
-
Eligible participants were recruited through the American Nurses' Association data. Nurses who responded to the first mailed questionnaires were comprised in the cohort.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 121,700
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
1982-84 toenail samples: 62,641 participants
1989-90 blood samples: 32,826 participants
2000-02 blood and urine samples: 18,743 participants
2002-04 cheek cells samples: 33,744 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NHS I follow-up 1 |
|
1976 (June) | 1978 (May) | |
| 1 | NHS I follow-up 2 |
|
1978 (June) | 1980 (May) | |
| 2 | NHS I follow-up 3 |
|
1980 (June) | 1982 (May) | |
| 3 | NHS I follow-up 4 |
|
|
1982 (June) | 1984 (May) |
| 4 | NHS I follow-up 5 |
|
1984 (June) | 1986 (May) | |
| 5 | NHS I follow-up 6 |
|
1986 (June) | 1988 (May) | |
| 6 | NHS I follow-up 7 |
|
|
1988 (June) | 1990 (May) |
| 7 | NHS I follow-up 8 |
|
1990 (June) | 1992 (May) | |
| 8 | NHS I follow-up 9 |
|
|
1992 (June) | 1994 (May) |
| 9 | NHS I follow-up 10 |
|
1994 (June) | 1996 (May) | |
| 10 | NHS I follow-up 11 |
|
1996 (June) | 1998 (May) | |
| 11 | NHS I follow-up 12 |
|
1998 (June) | 2000 (May) | |
| 12 | NHS I follow-up 13 |
|
|
2000 (June) | 2002 (May) |
| 13 | NHS I follow-up 14 |
|
|
2002 (June) | 2004 (May) |
| 14 | NHS I follow-up 15 |
|
2004 (June) | 2006 (May) | |
| 15 | NHS I follow-up 16 |
|
2006 (June) | 2008 (May) | |
| 16 | NHS I follow-up 17 |
|
2008 (June) | 2010 (May) | |
| 17 | NHS I follow-up 18 |
|
2010 (June) | 2012 (May) | |
| 18 | NHS I follow-up 19 |
|
2012 (June) | 2014 (May) | |
| 19 | NHS I follow-up 20 |
|
2014 (June) | 2016 (May) | |
| 20 | NHS I follow-up 21 |
|
2016 (June) | 2018 (May) | |
| 21 | NHS I follow-up 22 |
|
2019 (June) | 2021 (May) | |
| 22 | NHS I follow-up 23 |
|
2021 (June) | 2023 (May) | |
| 23 | NHS I follow-up 24 |
|
2023 (June) | 2025 (May) |
NHS II
The population is composed of registered nurses aged 25 to 42 years at recruitment in 1989 living in California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
Selection Criteria
- Gender
-
Women only
- Minimum age
-
25
- Maximum age
-
42
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Territory
-
California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
- Other Criteria
- Primarily premenopausal women (mainly Caucasian) who had no history of cancer were included in the study population.
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
-
- Members of an association
- Supplementary Information
-
Eligible participants were recruited through the American Nurses' Association data. Nurses who responded to the first mailed questionnaires were comprised in the cohort.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 116,429
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
1996-99 blood and urine samples: 29,611 participants (18,521 women gave a blood sample in the early follicular phase and a blood and urine sample in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle)
2006-08 cheek cells samples: 29,859 participants
2010-12 blood and urine samples: 17,275 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NHS II follow-up 1 |
|
1989 (June) | 1991 (May) | |
| 1 | NHS II follow-up 2 |
|
1991 (June) | 1993 (May) | |
| 2 | NHS II follow-up 3 |
|
1993 (June) | 1995 (May) | |
| 3 | NHS II follow-up 4 |
|
|
1995 (June) | 1997 (May) |
| 4 | NHS II follow-up 5 |
|
|
1997 (June) | 1999 (May) |
| 5 | NHS II follow-up 6 |
|
|
1999 (June) | 2001 (May) |
| 6 | NHS II follow-up 7 |
|
2001 (June) | 2003 (May) | |
| 7 | NHS II follow-up 8 |
|
2003 (June) | 2005 (May) | |
| 8 | NHS II follow-up 9 |
|
|
2005 (June) | 2007 (May) |
| 9 | NHS II follow-up 10 |
|
|
2007 (June) | 2009 (May) |
| 10 | NHS II follow-up 11 |
|
|
2009 (June) | 2011 (May) |
| 11 | NHS II follow-up 12 |
|
|
2011 (June) | 2013 (May) |
| 12 | NHS II follow-up 13 |
|
2013 (June) | 2015 (May) | |
| 13 | NHS II follow-up 14 |
|
2015 (June) | 2017 (May) | |
| 14 | NHS II folllow-up 15 |
|
|
2017 (June) | 2019 (May) |
| 15 | NHS II follow-up 16 |
|
2019 (June) | 2021 (May) | |
| 16 | NHS II follow-up 17 |
|
2021 (June) | 2023 (May) | |
| 17 | NHS II follow-up 18 |
|
2023 (June) | 2025 (May) |
NHS III
The population is composed of nursing students and nurses (currently working, not working, or retired), aged 18 years and over and born in 1965 or later living in Canada or in the United States.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
18
- Countries
-
- Canada
- United States of America
- Canadian Provinces
-
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
- Other Criteria
- Exclusion criteria : * Individuals who are working in nursing-related fields who are not RNs or LPNs/LVNs, such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Patient Care Assistants (PCA), State Tested Nurse Aides (STNA), or Nursing Assistants-Registered (NA/R). * Health professionals who are not nurses, such as physicians, physician assistants, dietitians, respiratory/occupational/physical therapists, speech pathologists, pharmacists, etc.
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
-
- Members of an association
- Supplementary Information
-
Women were recruited through social media, mailings, word of mouth, and personal invitation by participants in the NHS and NHSII.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 100,000
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
NHS plans to recruit at least 100,000 participants. As of May 2024, over 40,000 participants enrolled.
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NHS III follow-up 1 |
|
2010 (June) | 2010 (November) | |
| 1 | NHS III follow-up 2 |
|
2010 (December) | 2011 (May) | |
| 2 | NHS III follow-up 3 |
|
2011 (June) | 2011 (November) | |
| 3 | NHS III follow-up 4 |
|
2011 (December) | 2012 (May) | |
| 4 | NHS III follow-up 5 |
|
2012 (June) | 2012 (November) | |
| 5 | NHS III follow-up 6 |
|
2012 (December) | 2013 (May) | |
| 6 | NHS III follow-up 7 |
|
2013 (June) | 2013 (November) | |
| 7 | NHS III follow-up 8 |
|
2013 (December) | 2014 (May) | |
| 8 | NHS III follow-up 9 |
|
2014 (June) | 2014 (November) | |
| 9 | NHS III follow-up 10 |
|
2014 (December) | 2015 (May) | |
| 10 | NHS III follow-up 11 |
|
2015 (June) | 2015 (November) | |
| 11 | NHS III follow-up 12 |
|
2015 (December) | 2016 (May) | |
| 12 | NHS III follow-up 13 |
|
2016 (June) | 2016 (November) | |
| 13 | NHS III follow-up 14 |
|
2016 (December) | 2017 (May) | |
| 14 | NHS III follow-up 15 |
|
2017 (June) | 2017 (November) | |
| 15 | NHS III follow-up 16 |
|
2017 (December) | 2018 (May) | |
| 16 | NHS III follow-up 17 |
|
2018 (June) | 2018 (November) | |
| 17 | NHS III follow-up 18 |
|
2018 (December) | 2019 (May) | |
| 18 | NHS III follow-up 19 |
|
2019 (June) | 2019 (November) | |
| 19 | NHS III follow-up 20 |
|
2019 (December) | 2020 (May) | |
| 20 | NHS III follow-up 21 |
|
2020 (June) | 2020 (November) | |
| 21 | NHS III follow-up 22 |
|
2020 (December) | 2021 (May) | |
| 22 | NHS III follow-up 23 |
|
2021 (June) | 2021 (November) | |
| 23 | NHS III follow-up 24 |
|
2021 (December) | 2022 (May) | |
| 24 | NHS III follow-up 25 |
|
2022 (June) | 2022 (November) | |
| 25 | NHS III follow-up 26 |
|
2022 (December) | 2023 (May) |
Participating Studies
| Acronym | Name | Study design | Countries |
|---|
Harmonization Initiatives Included
| Acronym | Name |
|---|
Datasets
| Name | Data Collection Events | Variables |
|---|
Areas of Information Collected
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Death
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Physical measures and assessments
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Laboratory measures
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Diseases
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Symptoms and signs
- Preschool, school and work life
- Medication and supplements
- Social environment and relationships
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Physical environment
- Health and community care services utilization
- Administrative information
Variables Content Summary
Areas of Information Collected
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected
Networks
| Acronym | Name | Harmonization Initiatives | Individual Studies |
|---|
Last Update: 2024-05-08T16:03:47.269