Imagine you are an investigative reporter and your first assignment is to summarize data from a recently published journal or article available via the Internet. Please share a link to the article and discuss the type of data that was collected, the type of study that was conducted, and any follow up studies you feel would be beneficial.
CLASSMATE’S POST
As an investigator I chose to summarize this completed cohort and ongoing study on women’s health.
“Nurses’ Health Study” (NHS): This is a prospective cohort study done with nurses. It started in 1976 by researches from Channing Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and The Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health.
The nurses age ranges from 30 to 55 years old, 121,700 married women in number, the study was about impact of contraceptive and smoking on breast cancer, later the study extended to observe other lifestyle behaviors in relation to 30 diseases. In 1980 the study included dietary information, first dietary information obtained in 1991. This is first study is known as the original NHS Cohort.
Nurses were chosen for their willingness to participate, answer technical, and health related questions accurately to the best of their knowledge without hesitation.
This study also involved answering additional questions and giving blood, urine etc. every two years. So far there are three NHS cohorts.
NHS II. – started in 1989, 116430 nurses in number, 25 to 42 years old married women,
The study is about the effect of contraceptives on women that were taken the medication in adolescence years, lifestyles, risk factors and physical activities were collected.
NHS III – started in 2010 is still in progress. This one includes registered, licensed practical and vocational men and women nurses, ages 19 to 46, in United States and Canada.
This study is to find out about dietary lifestyles, environmental, occupational exposures that affect men’s and women’s health. Hormones, fertility, pregnancy and breast cancer risks because of diet during adolescence period.
Many researches have been published from these studies, and the children of the nurses are also being enrolled and studied from ages 9 to 17 called growing up today study. Questions on dietary intake, weight changes, exercise level, substance and alcohol use, body image, and environmental factors. Researchers are looking at conditions common in young adults such as asthma, skin cancer, eating disorders, and sports injuries etc. The Journal of Public Health dedicated the September 2016 issue to nurses for the 40th Anniversary of Nurses Health studies.
These are prospective cohort which means that a group of people are followed forward in time to determine the present of disease, death and other outcomes from taking contraceptives, their lifestyle, risk behaviors etc. The follow up study that I wish they consider adding to this open study is the life span of nurses compared to other professionals.
References:
The impact of the nurses’ health study on population health. Prevention, Translation and Control.
Retrieved 1/30/2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4981811/
