Women's Lifestyle and Health Study (WLH Study)
The Women's Lifestyle and Health Study was designed to examine the relationship between the use of oral contraception and breast cancer risk. It began recruiting Swedish women (aged 30 - 49) and Norwegian women (aged 39 - 40) in 1991 via random selection from the Swedish/Norwegian Central Population Register. A baseline questionnaire was sent to the selected, with 106,844 questionnaire responses received. Follow-ups were defined by the return of the questionnaire, which consisted of linkage to various population-based registries. Follow-ups were conducted until emigration, death, or a breast cancer diagnosis.
Study design
Cohort
Number of participants at first data collection
106,844 (participants)
Age at first data collection
Varied (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
Female
Representative sample at baseline?
The population of women living in Sweden or Norway
Sample features
Countries
Year of first data collection
1991
Primary Institutions
University of Tromsø (Universitetet i Tromsø)
Profile paper DOI
aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/11/11/1375/166628/Use-of-Oral-Contraceptives-and-Breast-Cancer
Funders
Erna and Olav Aakre Foundation for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Norwegian Cancer Society (Kreftforeningen, NCS)
Organon
Swedish Cancer Society
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- None
- None
- Census data
- Healthcare data
- Mortality data
- Other government data
Engagement
Keywords
