Women's Health Initiative

The Women's Health Initiative is a randomized controlled trial and subsequent cohort study whose purpose is to "address cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis, the most common causes of death, disability, and impaired quality of life in postmenopausal women."

The three major components of the WHI are:

1. "A randomized controlled clinical trial of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), dietary modification (DM), and calcium/vitamin D supplementation (CaD)"
2. "An observational study (OS)"
3. "A community prevention study (CPS)"

The trial is sponsored by the United States National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Publications from the Initiative are listed at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/references.htm.