Cohort Descriptives

Variable Response
Cohort Name The Million Women Study
Cohort Acronym Million Women
DOI Beral, V. (2017). Million Women [Data set]. Dementias Platform UK. https://doi.org/10.48532/032000
Study Overview The Million Women Study is a national study of women’s health, involving more than one million UK women aged 50 and over. It is a collaborative project between Cancer Research UK and the National Health Service, with additional funding from the Medical Research Council and the Health and Safety Executive, which aims to answer many outstanding questions about the factors affecting women’s health in this age group. The main focus of the study relates to the effects of hormone replacement therapy use, but the large size of the study means that a very broad range of health issues can be addressed. The Million Women Study is investigating how various reproductive and lifestyle factors affect women’s health. In particular, the study is looking at how hormone replacement therapy affects a woman’s breasts and other aspects of her health. Other factors being investigated include diet, exercise, employment patterns, oral contraceptive use, childbirth and breastfeeding, and family history of illness, in relation to a wide range of cancers and to other conditions such as fractures, gallbladder problems and cardiovascular disease.
#Subjects at Baseline 1,300,000 (and 55,000 in the disease susceptibility study, started in 2006)
Institution Name The University of Oxford
Department Name Cancer Epidemiology Unit
City Oxford
Study/Database Website

http://www.millionwomenstudy.org/

Principal Investigator (PI) Prof Dame Valerie Beral
Key Study References

Please see literature section

Population Based Study? Yes
Family Based Study? No
Clinical based sample? No
Is there follow-up data available? Yes
Were participants included prior to development of dementia (may refer to controls only)? Yes
Were participants included prior to development of MCI (may refer to controls only)? Yes
How is data collected? Combination of in person and postal
Who carries out data collection? Participants report on postal questionnaires and follow ups are done via data linkage.
Does this take place in participants' homes or at a central location? Home
Do participants take part individually or are families/partners involved? Individually
Dementia cases ascertained as part of study: No
Diagnosis based on review of existing clinical data No
Was diagnosis/primary outcomes made blind to exposure variables? No
How many times followed up? 5
Study start date 01/01/1996 00:00:00
Is study ongoing? Yes
Is study still recruiting? No
Inclusion criteria All screening centres in the NHS Breast Screening Programme (women in the age range 50-64 at recruitment) were eligible to collaborate in this research and all women invited for screening were eligible to take part.
Exclusion criteria Women who did not attend their breast screening appointment.

Administration

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Study ID Y
Age Y
Sex Y

Sociodemographic

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Age Y
Age at time of diagnosis of dementia Y
Age at last follow-up Y
Age at time of death Y
Sex Y
Ethnicity Y
Years of education Y
Level of education Y
Employment Status Y
Socioeconomic status measures Y

Physical Health Status

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Cardiovascular disease Y
Medication use for CVD Y
Hypertension Y
Systolic/diastolic BP Y
Hypotension Y
Hypercholesterolemia Y
Cancer Y
Diabetic Status Y
Stroke data Y
Stroke type Y
Head trauma data Y

Healthcare Utilisation

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Hospital utilisation Y
Medication use (Some medications known) Y
Medication use for CVD Y

Psychological Status

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Social contact Y
Major life events Y
Recent divorce Y
Death of spouse or close family member Y
Self rated health and fitness Y
Difficulty in bathing and dressing Y
Sleep assessment questionnaires Y

Mental Health Status

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Anxiety measure Y

Cognitive Status

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Alzheimer's dementia Y
Lewy Body disease Y
Huntington's disease Y
Parkinson's disease Y
Frontotemporal dementia Y
Vascular dementia Y

Lifestyle

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Smoking Y
Passive smoking Y
Current smoking Y
Former smoking Y
Alcohol Y
Units per day/week vs weekend Y
Specified beverage type (wine, spirits, beers) Y
Abstainers/former users Y
Physical activity and exercise Y
Type of exercise: heavy,light Y
Exercise duration Y
Self report activity and questions pertaining to job Y
Diet: Carbs, protein, fats, fish oil Y
Vegetarian? Y
Coffee and Caffeine Y
Vitamin A,B,E Y
Fat intake MUFA, PUFA Y
Food questionnaires Y

Physical Environment

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Living situation Y

Physical Examination

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Blood pressure (subgroup) (assessed before onset of dementia) Y
Weight (assessed before onset of dementia) Y
Height (assessed before onset of dementia) Y
Anthropometry (subgroup) (assessed before onset of dementia) Y
BMI (self-reported for cohort / measured for subset) Y
Hip/waist circumference (Self report for cohort, measured for subset) Y
Blood lipids Y

Biosample Assays

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Plasma Y
DNA Y

Digital Phenotyping

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Self-rating memory Y

Metabolomics

Sub-category Variable type Variables generally collected
Lipids Y