Nb. Cummings, WOMENS HEALTH AND NUTRITION RESEARCH - UNITED-STATES GOVERNMENTAL CONCERNS, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 12(4), 1993, pp. 329-336
The US Public Health Service (USPHS) and the National Institutes of He
alth (NIH) have a major commitment to women's health issues and to wom
en's health research. ''To assess the problems of women's health in th
e context of the lives women in America lead today,'' the Assistant Se
cretary for Health, USPHS, appointed a task force whose report publish
ed in 1985 identified issues, listed 15 recommendations, and served as
a guide for the establishment of groups within each agency to impleme
nt the recommendations according to their appropriate responsibilities
. NIH established an Advisory Committee on Women's Health Issues which
assessed NIH involvement in women's health research, made recommendat
ions for implementation or expansion of this research, including a rec
ommendation that women be included in clinical trials or their exclusi
on be justified. An Office of Research on Women's Health was created.
The NIH announced a Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in the spring of 1
991, which will address three of the leading health problems for women
: cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, and osteoporosis. T
he WHI will provide an integrated, multidisciplinary approach through
clinical trials, observational studies, and community trials. Clinical
trials will evaluate hormone replacement therapy, calcium/vitamin D,
and dietary modification of fat/fiber. Community trials will implement
known interventions for relevant risk factors. Presented here are USP
HS response to the mandate to address women's health issues; data from
the US National Center for Health Statistics about the incidence and
prevalence of diseases and risk factors in women; details about the WH
I clinical trial; and aspects of the WHI applicable to the field of nu
trition.