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URL: http://www.swanrepository.com/

Proper Citation: Study of Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Repository (RRID:SCR_008810)

Description: The SWAN Repository is the biologic specimen bank of the Study of Women''s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). SWAN is a National Institutes of Health funded, multi-site, longitudinal study of the natural history of the midlife including the menopausal transition. The overall goal of SWAN is to describe the chronology of the biological and psychosocial characteristics that occur during midlife and the menopausal transition. In addition, SWAN is describing the effect of the transition and its associated characteristics on subsequent health and risk factors for age related chronic diseases. SWAN was designed to collect and analyze information on demographics, health and social characteristics, reproductive history, pre-existing illness, physical activity, and health practices of mid-life women in multi-ethnic, community-based samples; elucidate factors that differentiate symptomatic from asymptomatic women during the menopausal transition; identify and utilize appropriate markers of the aging of the ovarian-hypothalamo-pituitary axis and relate these markers to alterations in menstrual cycle characteristics as women approach and traverse the menopause; and explain factors that differentiate women most susceptible to long-term pathophysiological consequences of ovarian hormone deficiency from those who are protected. The biological specimen bank can also be linked by identification number (not by participant name) to data collected in the Core SWAN protocol. The specimen bank can also be linked with data from the Daily Hormone Study as well as menstrual calendars. Types of data include: epidemiological data, psychosocial data, physical measures, as well as data from assays (endocrine and cardiovascular information). SWAN has seven clinical study sites located in six states, two in California, and one each in Chicago, Boston, Detroit area, northern New Jersey and Pittsburgh. The SWAN cohort was recruited in 1996/7 and consists of 3302 African American, Caucasian, Chinese American, Hispanic and Japanese American women. Cohort members complete an annual clinic visit. The Core Repository includes over 1.8 million samples from the first 11 years of specimen collection. This includes samples from annual visits and samples from the Daily Hormone Sub-study (DHS). During an Annual visit, participants provide materials for up to 24-28 aliquots to be incorporated into the Repository. During a DHS visit, a participant provides 6 serum samples and between ~30-50 urine samples depending upon the length of her menstrual cycle. DHS participants (887) provide urine samples collected throughout one menstrual cycle each year. A typical DHS collection consists of a blood draw plus collection of 10 ml of urine daily throughout the month-long menstrual cycle, up to 50 days. DHS Repository samples consist of 6 serum samples and 30 5 ml urine samples. Specimen collection occurs from the time of menstrual bleed to the subsequent menstrual bleed or up to 50 days, whichever come first. The current DHS collection consists of more than 200,000 specimens stored in 5 ml vials. The SWAN DNA Repository currently contains extracted diluted DNA from 1538 SWAN participants. B-lymphocytes were transformed with Epstein Barr virus, and the resulting transformed b-cells aliquoted. Information about using these transformed cells for genomic or proteomic studies is available. DNA has been extracted from one aliquot (per woman) of the immortalized cells using the Puregene system. There was an average DNA yield of 217.0 mg/mL and a A260/A280 average ratio of 1.86. This DNA, in turn, has been aliquoted into 20ng/1 ml units for release by the DNA Repository. Samples are free of personal identifiers and collected under consents that allow a broad range of activities related to women''s health. All of these samples are available to researchers who wish to study the midlife and menopausal transition. Scientists who use these specimens can also request data collected during a participant''s annual visit including medical and health history, psychosocial measures, biological measures and anthropometry.

Abbreviations: SWAN Repository

Synonyms: Study of Womens Health Across the Nation Repository, Study of Women''s Health Across the Nation Repository, Study of Women''s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Repository

Resource Type: cell repository, biomaterial supply resource, material resource

Keywords: woman, menopause, clinical, african american, caucasian, chinese american, hispanic, japanese american, clinical data, serum, urine, dna, blood, whole blood, sputum pellet, immortalized cell, cell, frozen, liquid nitrogen, menopause, midlife woman