Link to other cohort descriptions
Contact person(s) for the cohort description
Francine Grodstein
Partner
Institute
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
Key personnel for CHANCES
Meaghan MacKinnon, legal issues
Shelagh Pearson and Rich Myers, coordination
Definition of the cohort
Target population
Female nurses, age 30-55 in 1976 when the study began, located across the US.
Recruitment
Recruitment was done by mailed questionnaires.
Years of recruitment
The baseline questionnaires were administered 1976-77.
Size of the cohort
121,700 women, age 30-55 years, with a fairly even distribution of ages.
Recontacts
Period
Every two years for most of the baseline variables.
Approach
Mailed questionnaires to all participants. follow-up rate > 90%. Re-contact questionnaires are generally highly similar to the baseline questionnaire.
Measurements at baseline and recontacts
PLEASE NOTE: Baseline questionnaire and cognitive function assessment are provided in attachment. Follow-up questionnaires, including scales for measuring depression and ADLs can be found on the website: www.nurseshealthstudy.org, under the section "General information".
| Socioeconomic | Baseline and recontacts |
|---|---|
| Education | Yes |
| Income | |
| Marital status | Yes |
| Occupation | Yes |
| Employment status | Yes |
| History of | Baseline and recontacts |
| Diabetes | yes |
| Dyslipidemia | Yes |
| Coronary heart disease | Yes |
| Stroke | Yes |
| Cancer | Yes |
| Benign neoplasms | Yes |
| Fracture | Yes |
| - Which site(s)? | hip, wrist |
| Osteoporosis | Yes |
| Family history of | Baseline and recontacts |
| Coronary heart disease | Yes |
| Stroke | Yes |
| Diabetes | Yes |
| Cancer | Yes |
| Lifestyle | Baseline and recontacts |
| Current smoking | Yes |
| Past smoking | Yes |
| Alcohol use | Yes |
| Physical activity | Yes |
| Nutrition (yes/no) | Yes |
| - Number of food items available (approximately) | 181 |
| - Method(s) of dietary assessment (e.g. 24h-recall, food frequency questionnaire, dietary records) | FFQ |
| - Supplement use | Yes |
| Anthropometry | Baseline and recontacts |
| Weight and height | Yes |
| - Measured or self-reported | Self-reported |
| Unintended weight loss | No |
| Waist circumference | Yes |
| - Measured or self-reported | Self-reported |
| Hip circumference | Yes |
| Measured or self-reported | Self-reported |
| Blood pressure | Baseline and recontacts |
| Measured blood pressure | Yes |
| History of hypertension | Yes |
| Blood tests | Baseline and recontacts |
| Total cholesterol | No |
| HDL cholesterol | No |
| Triglycerides | No |
| - Fasting period | |
| ApoA1 | No |
| ApoB | No |
| Glucose | No |
| - Fasting period | |
| Glucose tolerance test | No |
| HbA1c | in some participants |
| GGT | No |
| CRP | in some participants |
| 25-Hydroxy-Vitamin D | in some participants |
| Other tests (specify) | |
| Availability of frozen sera for further analysis | No |
| - Storage temperature (°C) of sera | |
| Availability of frozen plasma for further analysis | Yes |
| - Storage temperature (°C) of plasma | nitrogen freezer |
| Genetics | Baseline and recontacts |
| Genotypic data | Yes |
| GWAS (specify) | in some women |
| Other high-throughput array data (specify) | No |
| Availability of DNA for further genotyping | Yes |
| Plated DNA | No |
| Otherwise stored DNA | buff coat and buccal cells |
| Other measurements | Baseline and recontacts |
| Perceived health | Yes |
| Cognitive decline/dementia | Yes |
| Depression | Yes |
| Grip Strength | No |
| Lung function | No |
| Audiometry | No |
| Measurement of bone density (DEXA) | No |
| Quality of life instruments (such as SF-12, EUROQoL) | sf-37 |
| Limitations in ADL/IADL (i.e. Activities of daily living/Instrumental activities of daily living) | Yes for adl |
| Multimorbidity instruments (such as CIRS-G) | No |
| Frailty scales | No |
| Reproductive history (for women) | Yes |
| Menstruation and menopausal status | Yes |
| Fertility problems | No |
| Pregnancies | Yes |
| Breast feeding | Yes |
| Hysterectomy and ovariectomy | Yes |
| History of oral contraceptive use | Yes |
| History of menopausal hormones use | yes |
| Current use of exogenous hormones | Yes |
| Use of drugs | Yes |
| Availability of classification of drugs, specify (e.g. Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical(ATC) classification system) | No |
Future recontacts
- year of contact: 2010, 2012, etc.
- method of contact: Mailed questionnaire
- all cohort or sample?: All
Other follow-up
Follow-up period
Every two years from baseline
Sources of data
Mailed questionnaire
Follow-up procedure
Mailed questionnaire
End-points covered through the follow-up
- All deaths: Yes
- Specification of the cause: Yes
- Non-fatal cancers: Yes
- Cancer survival: Yes
- Non-fatal acute coronary events: Yes
- Non-fatal stroke: yes
- Non-fatal diabetes: Yes
- Fractures: Yes
- Cognitive impairment/dementia: Yes
- Nursing home admission: No
ICD-version used for classification of diseases in the data
- Updated continuously since 1976
References
Colditz GA, Hankinson SE. The Nurses' Health Study: Lifestyle and Health among Women. Nat Rev Cancer 2005;5:388-96.
sample nurses health study quaire.pdf (application/pdf)
DESCRIPTION OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION DATA.pdf (application/pdf)
