In 1991, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), was launched.

The WHI is a long-term national health study that focuses on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. These chronic diseases are the major causes of death, disability, and frailty in older women of all races and backgrounds.