Researchers, Mentors and PhD students, consider subscribing to B.R.I.D.G.E. TO DATA®* and find the perfect database for your study or project! B.R.I.D.G.E. TO DATA® is a unique online reference profiling population healthcare databases for use in epidemiology and health outcomes research.
The Nurses' Health Studies, comprising 4 cohorts - NHS, NHS2, NHS3 and GUTS (Growing Up Today Study), are among the largest prospective investigations into the risk factors for major chronic diseases in women and more recently, men. Starting with the original Nurses’ Health Study in 1976, the studies are now in their third generation with Nurses’ Health Study 3 (still enrolling male and female nurses) and count >275,000 participants. Forty-seven years since the beginning, over 200,000 participants continue to contribute data, biospecimens, and participate in ancillary studies.
For individuals seeking general information about the Studies -
Email: nhs@channing.harvard.edu
Telephone: +1 617-525-2279
Address:
Nurses Health Study/Harvard Cohorts and Biorepository
Channing Division of Network Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
181 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
USA
For researchers interested in collaboration, please see https://nurseshealthstudy.org/researchers
Dr. Heather Eliassen
Email: heliasse@hsph.harvard.edu
Dr. Jorge Chavarro
Email: jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu
Dr. Jaime Hart
Email: jhart@hsph.harvard.edu
Dr. Walter Willett
Email: wwillett@hsph.harvard.edu
1. Wang P, Chen X, Na M, Flores-Torres MH, Bjornevik K, Zhang X, Chen X, Khandpur N, Rossato SL, Zhang FF, Ascherio A. Long-term consumption of ultraprocessed foods and prodromal features of Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2025 Jun 10;104(11):e213562.
2. Zhang Y, Chadaideh KS, Li Y, Li Y, Gu X, Liu Y, Guasch-Ferré M, Rimm EB, Hu FB, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ. Butter and plant-based oils intake and mortality. JAMA internal medicine. 2025 May 1;185(5):549-60.
3. Tessier AJ, Wang F, Korat AA, Eliassen AH, Chavarro J, Grodstein F, Li J, Liang L, Willett WC, Sun Q, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Guasch-Ferré M. Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging. Nat Med. 2025 May;31(5):1644-1652.
4. Wang S, Menor A, Chibnik LB, Kang JH, Vyas CM, Blacker DL, Kubzansky LD, Koenen KC, Roberts AL. COVID-19 pandemic–related exposures and cognitive function in middle-aged women. JAMA Network Open. 2025 Apr 1;8(4):e255532-.
5. Yin X, Bao W, Ley SH, Yang J, Cuffe SB, Yu G, Chavarro JE, Liu P, Zhou JH, Tobias DK, Hu FB. Sleep characteristics and long-term risk of type 2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes. JAMA Network Open. 2025 Mar 3;8(3):e250142-.
6. Brantley KD, Ziegler RG, Craft NE, Hankinson SE, Eliassen AH. Circulating estrogen metabolites and risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women in the Nurses’ Health Study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 2025 Mar 3;34(3):375-84.
7. Li Y, Li Y, Gu X, Liu Y, Dong D, Kang JH, Wang M, Eliassen H, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Wang D. Long-term intake of red meat in relation to dementia risk and cognitive function in US adults. Neurology. 2025 Feb 11;104(3):e210286.
8. Hamaya R, Wang M, Hertzmark E, Cook NR, Manson JE, Sun Q, Stampfer MJ, Mukamal KJ, Curhan G, Rimm EB. Modifiable lifestyle factors in the primordial prevention of hypertension in three US cohorts. European Journal of Internal Medicine. 2025 Feb 1;132:55-66.
9. Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Smith SG, Kubzansky LD. Are the ways women cope with stressors related to their health behaviors over time?. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2025 Jan;59(1):kaaf006.
10. Zhu Y, Shutta KH, Huang T, Balasubramanian R, Zeleznik OA, Clish CB, Ávila-Pacheco J, Hankinson SE, Kubzansky LD. Persistent PTSD symptoms are associated with plasma metabolic alterations relevant to long-term health: A metabolome-wide investigation in women. Psychological Medicine. 2025 Jan;55:e30.
Do you know anyone who may qualify for the Judith K. Jones Award for Impact on Public Health through Pharmacoepidemiology? See this link and nominate them by January 31, 2024. (NOTE: You do have to be a member of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology to nominate, but the nominee does not have to be one.
- The Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (SRQ) is a national quality register with the aim of continuously improving the treatment and follow-up of patients with rheumatic diseases. SRQ was started in 1996, mainly for patients with RA, but over time it has been expanded to cover several other rheumatic diseases including ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), myositis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and additional conditions.
Kjell-Morten Myhr
Email: kjell-morten.myhr@helse-bergen.no
Phone: (+47) 55975045
Stig Wergeland, Ph.D.
Head of the Norwegian MS-registry and biobank
Phone: (+47) 55 97 60 30
Email 1: stig.wergeland@helse-bergen.no
Email 2: msdata@helse-bergen.no
1. Rød BE, Høgestøl EA, Torkildsen Ø, Bjørnevik K, Gran JM, Øverås MH, König M, Myhr KM, Wergeland S, Nygaard GO. Comparative effectiveness of rituximab and cladribine in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A target trial emulation. Mult Scler. 2025 May 26:13524585251342727.
2. Eid K, Torkildsen Ø, Aarseth J, Cortese M, Holmøy T, Myhr KM, Riise T, Wergeland S, Gilhus NE, Bjørk MH. Migraine in the multiple sclerosis prodrome: a prospective nationwide cohort study in pregnant women. J Headache Pain. 2024 Dec 23;25(1):225.
3. Hillert J, Butzkueven H, Magyari M, Wergeland S, Moore N, Soilu-Hänninen M, Ziemssen T, Kuhle J, Pontieri L, Forsberg L, Aarseth JH, Zhu C, Sicignano N, Mushnikov V, Bezemer I, Sabidó M. Harmonized Data Quality Indicators Maintain Data Quality in Long-Term Safety Studies Using Multiple Sclerosis Registries/Data Sources: Experience from the CLARION Study. Clin Epidemiol. 2024 Oct 17;16:717-732.
4 Nakken O, Aarseth JH, Wergeland S, Stigum H, Meyer HE, Holmøy T. BCG vaccination and multiple sclerosis risk: A Norwegian cohort study. Mult Scler. 2024 May;30(6):646-653.
5. Eid K, Torkildsen Ø, Aarseth J, Cortese M, Holmøy T, Myhr KM, Riise T, Wergeland S, Gilhus NE, Bjørk MH. Migraine in the multiple sclerosis prodrome: a prospective nationwide cohort study in pregnant women. J Headache Pain. 2024 Dec 23;25(1):225.
6. König M, Lorentzen ÅR, Torgauten HM, Tran TT, Schikora-Rustad S, Vaage EB, Mygland Å, Wergeland S, Aarseth J, Aaberge IAS, Torkildsen Ø, Holmøy T, Berge T, Myhr KM, Harbo HF, Andersen JT, Munthe LA, Søraas A, Celius EG, Vaage JT, Lund-Johansen F, Nygaard GO. Humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in multiple sclerosis: the relevance of time since last rituximab infusion and first experience from sporadic revaccinations. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2023 Jan;94(1):19-22.
7. Høglund RAA, Meyer HE, Stigum H, Torkildsen Ø, Grytten N, Holmøy T, Nakken O. Association of Body Mass Index in Adolescence and Young Adulthood and Long-term Risk of Multiple Sclerosis: A Population-Based Study. Neurology. 2021 Dec 7;97(23):e2253-e2261.
8. Grytten N, Myhr KM, Celius EG, Benjaminsen E, Kampman MT, Midgard R, Vatne A, Aarseth JH, Riise T, Torkildsen Ø. Incidence of cancer in multiple sclerosis before and after the treatment era- a registry- based cohort study. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2021 Oct;55:103209.
9. Ahmad I, Wergeland S, Oveland E, Bø L. A higher proportion of ermin-immunopositive oligodendrocytes in areas of remyelination. PLoS One. 2021 Aug 26;16(8):e0256155.
10. Norborg H, Riise T, Myhr KM, Grytten N, Wergeland S. Real-world discontinuation rate of teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2021 Jun 14;7(2):20552173211022027.
1. Lotta Blom
National Quality Coordinator
Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (SRQ)
Enheten för klinisk epidemiologi
Institutet för medicin, Karolinska Institutet
T4:01 Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna
171 76 Stockholm
SWEDEN
Phone: +46 (0)72-254 21 55
Email: ann-charlotte.blom@regionstockholm.se
2. Lotta Ljung
Register Holder
Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (SRQ)
Enheten för klinisk epidemiologi
Institutet för medicin, Karolinska Institutet
T4:01 Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna
171 76 Stockholm
SWEDEN
Email: lotta.ljung@regionstockholm.se
Email: info@srq.nu
1. Palsson O, Einarsson JT, Wallman JK, Love TJ, Gudbjornsson B, Kapetanovic MC. Prevalence and predictors of achieving sustained remission in psoriatic arthritis. A Swedish nationwide registry study. J Rheumatol. 2025 May 15:jrheum.2024-1250.
2. Bruze GM, Frisell T, Turesson C, Forsblad-d'Elia H, Soderling J, Askling J, Neovius M; ARTIS Study Group. Work loss in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with abatacept, rituximab, tocilizumab or TNF inhibitors: a nationwide direct drug-to-drug comparison. RMD Open. 2025 Jan 29;11(1):e004936.
3. Exarchou S, Di Giuseppe D, Klingberg E, Sigurdardottir V, Wedrén S, Lindström U, Turesson C, Jacobsson LTH, Askling J, Wallman JK. Incidence of Clinically Diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis in Sweden. J Rheumatol. 2025 Jan 1;52(1):38-46.
4. Waldenlind K, Delcoigne B, Saevarsdottir S, Askling J. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and risk of thyroxine-treated autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Intern Med. 2024 Mar;295(3):313-321.
5. Cohen JM, Alvestad S, Suarez EA, Schaffer A, Selmer RM, Havard A, Bateman BT, Cesta CE, Zoega H, Odsbu I, Huybrechts KF, Kjerpeseth LJ, Straub L, Leinonen MK, Bjørk MH, Nørgaard M, Gissler M, Ulrichsen SP, Hernandez-Diaz S, Tomson T, Furu K. Comparative Risk of Major Congenital Malformations With Antiseizure Medication Combinations vs Valproate Monotherapy in Pregnancy. Neurology. 2024 Jan 23;102(2):e207996.
6. Exarchou S, Wallman JK, Di Giuseppe D, Klingberg E, Sigurdardottir V, Wedrén S, Lindström U, Turesson C, Jacobsson LTH, Askling J. The National Prevalence of Clinically Diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis in Sweden in 2017. J Rheumatol. 2023 Jun;50(6):781-788.
7. Secher AEP, Granath F, Glintborg B, Rom A, Hetland ML, Hellgren K. Risk of pre-eclampsia and impact of disease activity and antirheumatic treatment in women with rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondylarthritis and psoriatic arthritis: a collaborative matched cohort study from Sweden and Denmark. RMD Open. 2022 Nov;8(2):e002445.
8. Barbulescu A, Askling J, Saevarsdottir S, Kim SC, Frisell T. Combined Conventional Synthetic Disease Modifying Therapy vs. Infliximab for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Emulating a Randomized Trial in Observational Data. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Oct;112(4):836-845.
9. Hellgren K, Secher AE, Glintborg B, Rom AL, Gudbjornsson B, Michelsen B, Granath F, Hetland ML. Pregnancy outcomes in relation to disease activity and anti-rheumatic treatment strategies in women with rheumatoid arthritis: a matched cohort study from Sweden and Denmark. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 Aug 30;61(9):3711-3722.
10. Hedenstierna L, Hedström AK, Klareskog L, Di Giuseppe D, Alfredsson L, Askling J, Ernestam S, Saevarsdottir S, Ljung L. Neither low social support nor low decision latitude at work is associated with disease remission among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Swedish EIRA study. Arthritis Res Ther. 2022 Aug 23;24(1):203.
DGI offers various services in addition to the online resource, B.R.I.D.G.E. TO DATA®. Some examples of how we can help you include:
