The Black Women's Health Study (BWHS) is a long-term

observational study In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample (statistics), sample to a statistical population, population where the dependent and independent variables, independ ...

conducted at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

's Slone Epidemiology Center since 1995 to investigate the health problems of Black women over a long time period, with the ultimate goal of improving their health. Gaining information about the causes of health problems that affect Black women will help to determine health outcomes. The study, funded by the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

follows a cohort of the 59,000 women that enrolled. Black women are underrepresented in most studies of women's health, while some disorders are known to disproportionately affect Black women. Women's health is often meant to reflect women's reproductive health, but in this case it is better expressed as "the health of Black women". This study seeks to gather and compile information on the conditions that affect Black women including particularly

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

premature birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, and

uterine fibroids Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomas or fibroids, are benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus. Most women with fibroids have no symptoms while others may have painful or heavy periods. If large enough, they may push on the bl ...

. The study design is based on a biennial questionnaire. Publications have been released continually since the start of the survey, mostly dealing with specific conditions The earliest were abstracts. The first comprehensive report was in 1998. Through May 2014, there have been a total of 205 papers. A biannual newsletter summarizing current work is also published.

References

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External links

Black Women's Health Study, Boston University
1995 establishments in the United States Epidemiological study projects Cohort studies Health research Boston University Women's health