Black Women's Health Study: A Follow-up Study for Causes of Illness in Black Women

Lynn Rosenberg, Sc.D.
Boston University, Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston, Mass.
Funded since 1994
Web site

African-American women suffer a greater burden of morbidity and mortality than white women, and incidence and mortality rates of many cancers are higher in black women. The investigators are conducting the largest follow-up study of the health of African-American women yet undertaken, the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS). The aim is to determine the effects on the incidence of breast cancer, other cancers, and other serious illnesses of a variety of potential risk factors, including obesity, physical activity, alcohol consumption, diet, oral contraceptive use, postmenopausal female hormone use, experiences of racism and other psychosocial factors, socioeconomic factors, and genes.

The BWHS cohort was established in 1995 when 59,000 black women ages 21 to 69 years from all regions of the United States completed mail questionnaires and provided data on demographic factors, medical and reproductive history, use of oral contraceptives and other drugs, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, diet, and other factors. The women have been followed through biennial mail questionnaires to identify incident disease and update risk factors, with follow-up averaging 80%.

The results of numerous analyses of risk factors for breast cancer and other conditions have been published, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the effort to decrease health disparities between African American women and white women in the United States.