Nurses’ Health Study (NHS)

The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) is one of the largest long-term prospective cohort studies in the United States. It was established in 1976 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with 121,700 US female registered nurses aged 30–55 years.

Participants complete biennial questionnaires on lifestyle factors, medical history, and diet (via food frequency questionnaire from 1980 onward, expanded in 1986). Follow-up rate exceeds 90%.

Role in Dietary Research

The NHS has generated foundational evidence on links between diet (saturated fat, trans fat, fibre, vitamins, dietary patterns) and cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and mortality. It underpins much of Harvard Nutrition’s output, including development of the AHEI.

In This Wiki

• tessier-2025-optimal-dietary-patterns-healthy-aging — 70,091 NHS women contributed to 30-year dietary pattern / healthy-aging analysis

Companion Cohort

• health-professionals-follow-up-study (HPFS) — male companion cohort established 1986