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Cohort Acronym
NHSII

Cohort type
General population-based cohort

Disease
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Subjective memory complaints (SMC) or subjective cognitive decline (SCD)

Participant type
No diagnosis

Profile
Recruitment Period 1989 
Sample size at start or planned sample size if still recruiting 116,430  
Estimated Current Sample Size  
Age at Recruitment 25-42   
Gender Female 
Abstract

The Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II) was established by Dr. Walter Willett and colleagues in 1989 with funding from the National Institutes of Health to study oral contraceptives, diet, and lifestyle risk factors in a population younger than the original NHS cohort.

Why a new cohort of nurses?
This younger generation of nurses included women who started using oral contraceptives during adolescence and were thus maximally exposed during their early reproductive life. Several case-control studies suggesting such exposures might be associated with substantial increases in breast cancer risk provided a particularly strong justification for investment in this large cohort. Researchers also planned to collect detailed information on the types of oral contraceptives used, which was not obtained in the Nurses’ Health Study.

In addition, NHS II obtained information on physical activity and diet in adolescence and early adult life.

 
Country USA 
Contact details
Institution name Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health 
Website http://www.nurseshealthstudy.org/ 
Principal Investiator (PI) Heather Eliassen and Walter Willett 
Contact email [email protected]; PI email: [email protected]; [email protected] 
Contact phone number 617-525-2279 
Address Nurses' Health Study II
Channing Division of Network Medicine
181 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 
Funders (Core support) National Institute of Health (NIH)|National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)|Breast Cancer Foundation 

Variables Collected

Brain related measures: N/A
Funtional rating: Individual physiological, Individual psychological
Anthropometric: Blood pressure, Height, Hip circumference, Waist circumference, Weight
Physical: Cardiovascular, Hearing and Vision, Musculoskeletal, Reproductive, Respiratory
Biological samples: Blood, Urine
Genotyping: Gene screening
Brain imaging: N/A
Brain banking: N/A
Lifestyle: Alcohol, Dietary habits, Physical activity, Smoking
Socio-economic: Ethnic group, Housing and accommodation, Informal support, Martial status, Occupation and employment
Health service utilisation: Formal health and social care service utilisation including private care
 
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