Women's Health Initiative
In 1993, Brigham and Women's Hospital was selected by the National Institutes of Health as one of 16 Vanguard Centers to participate in the largest women's research study undertaken in the United States - The Women's Health Initiative.
The Women's Health Initiative is a national, multi-center, 15-year, $625 million study that will examine the prevention of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, and osteoporosis through randomized clinical trials involving hormone replacement therapy, low-fat diet, and intake of calcium and vitamin D supplements. The study will also analyze the relationship between the risk of disease and weight, blood pressure, diet, and physical activity.
The study is being conducted among 160,000 women aged 50-79. Approximately 60,000 women are enrolled in the randomized clinical trial component and an additional 100,000 in the observational component.
BWH, the only Massachusetts hospital selected to participate in the Women's Health Initiative, enrolled more than 5,000 women from the Boston area to participate in the study.
BWH's principal investigator of the Women's Health Initiative is JoAnne Manson, MD, Co-Director of Women's Health in the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Medicine at BWH.
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