Women's Health Initiative: Why now? What is it? What's new? (original) (raw)

1997, American Psychologist

Studies collectively named the Women's Health Initiative There are three components of WHI: randomized, (WHI) are currently enrolling 164,500 postmenopausal controlled clinical trials; an observational study; and a women in several overlapping clinical trials and an ob-community prevention study. The clinical trials are enservationalstudy. The overall goals of WHI are to under-rolling 64,500 women in three overlapping arms to assess stand the determinants of postmenopausal women's the efficacy of treatments in reducing the major chronic health and to evaluate the efficacy of practical interven-diseases of postmenopausal women. The treatments intions in preventing the major causes of morbidity and clude a 10w-fat diet, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), mortality in older women. This article reviews the re-and calcium-vitamin D supplementation. Primary outsearch leading to the WHI studies; describes the study comes are the incidence of breast and colorectal cancer, designs and protocols, with an emphasis on what's new coronary disease, and osteoporotic fractures, with healthabout WHI from a psychological perspective; and out-related quality of life and functional status among the lines the majorpsychosocial hypotheses under investiga-secondary outcomes. Another 100,000 women are being tion and the major challenges WH1 presents to psycho-enrolled in a parallel observational study of the biological logical science, and psychological determinants of chronic diseases in women. Women from diverse ethnic groups and older womenare overrepresentedin the samplingfor both the I_ A !°men have long been underrepresented !n clinical trials and the observational study. The community V V medical research. Historically, women s prevention study is a collaborative venture among the V V health research focused on diseases affecting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National fertility and reproduction. Other disease research focused Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Prodisproportionately on men because of excess premature motion, and NIH. Their goal is to develop carefully evalumortality in men, concerns that women's changing hormone levels could confound study results, and concerns about pregnancy during clinical trials. Given that older Editor'snote. JamesE. Maddux served as action editor for this artiele. women constitute the fastest growing segment of the pop-Author's note.