Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

Synopsis

The purpose of the project is to provide scientifically valid information, based on current, accurate data that is relevant to the development of health policy and practice in women’s health. By looking at the factors contributing to the physical and emotional health of individual women in Australia, ALSWH particularly aims to provide information that will assist State and Federal Governments to plan for the future and to develop policies which are most appropriate to Australians of all ages in the twenty-first century. Additionally, the project aims to clarify cause-and-effect relationships between women’s health and a range of biological, psychological, social and lifestyle factors, and to assess the effects of changes in health policy and practice.
ALSWH aims to help shape the future of women’s health in Australia by:
* Identifying the social, psychological, physical and environmental factors which determine good health, and those which cause ill-health, in women throughout adult life.
* Identifying when, if and how the health system meets the health needs of women and helping to guide future policy and planning of women’s health care services.
* Providing information on the long term health effects of events in women’s lives and on the factors that modify these effects.
* Giving an opportunity for Australian women to have a say about their health and health services.
* Providing a national research resource on women’s health issues.
* Providing data which will help motivate women to participate in decision making on health.

The key components of ALSWH are:

* A survey program examining the health of more than 57,000 women in four age cohorts for over 25 years.

* An extensive data linkage program involving national and state administrative health records.

*A sophisticated data-sharing system facilitating wide-spread research collaboration.

Please visit the study website to find out more: www.alswh.org.au

 

Summary

An externally funded cohort of children has been recruited, but this is not formally part of ALSWH.​

Study name  Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health
Study abbreviation  ALSWH / WHA
Current principal investigator/s Professor Gita Mishra and Professor Deborah Loxton 
Postal address

UQ: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, School of Public Health,The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4006;

UoN: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308
Phone

UQ: +617 3346 4723

UoN: +612 4042 1621
Email
Primary Institution ALSWH is conducted equally by the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle.
Collaborating Institution/s The University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle.
Major funding sources Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
Study website www.alswh.org.au 
Key reference

Lee C, Dobson AJ, Brown WJ, Bryson L, Byles J, Warner-Smith P, Young AF. (2005). Cohort Profile: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 34(5): 987-991. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyi098

Dobson AJ, Hockey R, Brown WJ, Byles JE, Loxton DJ, McLaughlin D, Tooth LR & Mishra GD.  (2015).  Cohort profile update: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.  International Journal of Epidemiology, 44(5): 1547-1547f.  doi: 10.1093/ije/dyv110
Are data available outside study team? Yes, data from the Mothers and Their Children’s Health Study is available to external researchers – see https://alswh.org.au/for-data-users/applying-for-data/full-dataset-and-linked-data/
Study focus

The purpose of the project is to provide scientifically valid information, based on current, accurate data that is relevant to the development of health policy and practice in women’s health. By looking at the factors contributing to the physical and emotional health of individual women in Australia, ALSWH particularly aims to provide information that will assist State and Federal Governments to plan for the future and to develop policies which are most appropriate to Australians of all ages in the twenty-first century. Additionally, the project aims to clarify cause-and-effect relationships between women’s health and a range of biological, psychological, social and lifestyle factors, and to assess the effects of changes in health policy and practice.
ALSWH aims to help shape the future of women’s health in Australia by:

  • Identifying the social, psychological, physical and environmental factors which determine good health, and those which cause ill-health, in women throughout adult life.
  • Identifying when, if and how the health system meets the health needs of women and helping to guide future policy and planning of women’s health care services.
  • Providing information on the long term health effects of events in women’s lives and on the factors that modify these effects.
  • Giving an opportunity for Australian women to have a say about their health and health services.
  • Providing a national research resource on women’s health issues.
  • Providing data which will help motivate women to participate in decision making on health.

Please visit the study website to find out more: www.alswh.org.au
Sampling frame

In April 1996, women in three age groups – 18-23 years (born 1973-78), 45-50 years (born 1946-51), and 70-75 years (born 1921-26) were selected from the Medicare database, which contains the name and address details of all Australian citizens and permanent residents. These women were sent an invitation to participate in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), and more than 40,000 responded and agreed to participate in the project for 20 years. Sampling from the population was random within each age group, except that women from rural and remote areas were sampled at twice the rate of women in urban areas.

In 2012 and 2013, 17,011 18-23-year-old women were enrolled in the 1989-95 cohort. Women were mainly recruited using the internet and social media platforms. Consistent with the other cohorts, women were required to have a Medicare card. Women completed the online survey and provided consent to linkage of survey data with administrative databases such as Medicare.

Find out more: alswh.org.au/about/about-the-study
Year commenced

1996 for the 1973-78, 1946-51, and 1921-26 cohorts; 2012 for the 1989-95 cohort 
Commencement sample

1973-78 cohort: 14,247;

1946-51 cohort: 13,714;

1921-26 cohort: 12,432; and

1989-95 cohort: 17,011 
Intergenerational? An externally funded cohort of children has been recruited, but this is not formally part of ALSWH. The Mothers and their Children’s Health (MatCH) Substudy​ uses a life course approach to combine detailed data from the ALSWH 1973-78 Cohort with new information about their children. MatCH investigates how maternal and family characteristics impact the health and development of the next generation.
Imaging No
Linkage ALSWH is linked to multiple administrative datasets. Details are available on the website. 
Biosamples? No

Waves

1973-78 cohort

Wave Year Age (mean, range) Effective sample
1  1996

18-23 years

14,247
2  2000  22-27 years 9,688
3  2003  25-30 years 9,801
4  2006 28-33 years 9,145
5  2009 31-36 years 8,199
6  2012 34-39 years 8,009
7  2015 37-42 years 7,186
8  2018 40-45 years 7,121
9  2021 43-49 years 6,875

1946-51 cohort

Wave Year Age (mean, range) Effective sample
1  1996

45-50 years

13,714
2  1998 47-52 years 12,338
3  2001  50-55 years 11,226
4  2004 53-58 years 10,905
5  2007 56-61 years 10,638
6  2010 59-64 years 10,011
7  2013 62-67 years 9,151
8  2016 65-70 years 8,622
9  2019 68-73 years 7,956

1921-26 cohort

Wave Year Age (mean, range) Effective sample
1  1996

70-75 years

12,432
2  1999 73-78 years 10,434
3  2002  76-81 years  8,646 
4  2005 79-84 years 7,158
5  2008 82-87 years 5,560
6  2011 85-90 years 4,055
7  2012 86-91 years 4,567
7.5  2012 86-91 years 4,143
8  2013 87-92 years 3,797
8.5  2013 87-92 years 3,466
9  2014 88-93 years 3,192
9.5  2014 88-93 years 2,964
10  2015 89-94 years 2,714
10.5  2015 89-94 years 2,504
11  2016 90-95 years 2,301
11.5  2016 90-95 years 2,103
12  2017 91-96 years 1,913
12.5  2017 91-96 years 1,824
13  2018 92-97 years 1,529
13.5  2018 92-97 years 1,371
14  2019 93-98 years 1,234
14.5  2019 93-98 years 1,107
15  2020 94-99 years 987
15.5  2020 94-99 years 881
16  2021 95-100 years 794
16.5  2021 95-100 years 781

1989-95 Cohort

Wave Year Age (mean, range) Effective sample
1  2013 18-23 years 17,011
2  2014 19-24 years 11,344
3  2015 20-25 years 8,961
4  2016 21-26 years 9,007
5  2017 22-27 years 8,495
6  2019 24-29 years 8,346