By Sheree Crute

In 1995, a group of researchers came together to create a project that would forever change what we know about Black women’s health and wellbeing. Dr. Lynn Rosenberg, Dr. Julie R. Palmer and Dr. Lucile L. Adams-Campbell started the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) at Boston University, spearheading work that continues to flourish today due to the efforts of a team of brilliant researchers.

This year, the BWHS celebrates 30 years of study results, making this the perfect time to recognize the tremendous impact of the project’s investigations and discoveries about how to improve and protect Black women’s health.

The Women in the Study

The BWHS participants are unique in the world of public health research. The initial group included 59,000 Black women (full disclosure, I am a participant) representing all 50 states, several US territories, and some other countries, including the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Central America and Europe – 46,000 participants remain.

“Our participants are amazing,” said Yvette Cozier, PhD, a principal investigator for the study. “Every two years, 75% of the participants completed questionnaires.” The median age of the current participants is 67, the youngest is 52 and 11 centenarians are the oldest. The BWHS survey questionnaires gathered information on nearly every aspect of Black women’s health from body size, diet, sleep, reproductive histories, and menopause, to chronic disease, autoimmune conditions, medication use, and stress, especially around racism and trauma. The BWHS is the longest and most comprehensive assessment of Black women’s health in US history.

Life Changing Results

Multiple subsidiary studies were also conducted to produce work that has informed and advanced nearly every aspect of what we know about our health. Many of the findings are so familiar, that a younger generation may not realize that the work of BWHS was the source of many of these important findings:

  • Breast Cancer – The BWHS teams identified lifestyle factors specifically linked to breast cancer risk in Black women, eventually leading to a breast cancer risk prediction model to guide prevention, treatment, and genetic testing decisions to address the disproportionately high rates of breast cancer mortality in Black women.
  • Fibroids – BWHS findings established a link between certain dietary factors, chemical hair relaxers, and psychosocial factors such as stress and experiencing racism and the higher rates of fibroids in Black women.
  • Heart and Cardiovascular Disease – Three separate BWHS studies established connections between heart disease and the stress of living with perceived levels of racism, living in poorer neighborhoods, as well as the connection between developing hypertension as early as age 30 and stroke in Black women.
  • Lung Cancer – BWHS research led to the changes in the criteria for screening for lung cancer because the existing methods were not appropriate to the risks experienced by Black women.

This list just includes the highlights of BWHS work. The research is ongoing with new projects looking at cognitive health, environmental health risks, and other important issues, even in the current political climate. “We are up for renewal next year and we plan to continue doing our best work,” Cozier said. “We are not stopping this research, added Kim Bertran, ScD, who is also an investigator. “We are moving forward in any way that we can, but if you want to advocate, reaching out to your local representative would be helpful.”

Sheree Crute is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of FierceforBlackWomen.com.

Photo: Andra C. Taylor, Unsplash