1999

Women who lived in the South or who had lower levels of education were more likely to have had an early hysterectomy than women with higher levels of education or who lived in other regions. Different rates of medical conditions that lead to hysterectomy did not explain the differences. The associations with region and education suggest that some women are not being told of possible alternatives to hysterectomy. link to online article

In these preliminary analyses, there was a trend of decreasing risk of breast cancer with increasing exercise during early reproductive life.

As in many studies of other populations, increased height was associated with a small increase in the risk of breast cancer.

There was a high rate of changing addresses in the BWHS between enrollment and completion of the first follow-up. Moving was strongly related to age, with the youngest women moving most often. Methods used to maintain contact include Newsletters, use of the national change of address file, the postal service, and friends and relatives of participants.

BWHS data suggest that important risk factors of coronary heart disease in Black and white women are similar. These include smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, family history of heart attack, and obesity. Because most of these factors can be modified (for example, women can give up smoking and they can take medication for high blood pressure), it is possible for many Black women to reduce their risk of developing heart disease. link to online article

There was a high rate of overweight and of high blood pressure among BWHS participants with high levels of education. This was also the case among women with less education. Overweight was strongly associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure at all educational levels. link to online article