Accessing and Utilizing SWAN Data and Biospecimens for Research
SWAN Overview
The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multi-site, multi-racial/ethnic, longitudinal cohort study designed to characterize the physiological and psychosocial changes that occur during the menopausal transition and to assess their relations to subsequent health and age-related diseases. For over 25 years, SWAN investigators and external researchers have been utilizing the SWAN data and biospecimen resources to generate meaningful work about women’s health, the menopause transition, and its association with subsequent health outcome.
The design for the SWAN was published:
Sowers M, Crawford S, Sternfeld B, et al. Design, survey sampling and recruitment methods of SWAN: A multicenter, multi-ethnic, community-based cohort study of women and the menopausal transition. In: Lobo RA, Kelsey J, Marcus R, eds. Menopause: Biology and pathobiology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2000:175–188.
An overview of the research results that have been produced by the SWAN Investigators is summarized in the manuscript:
El Khoudary SR, Greendale G, Crawford SL, Avis NE, Brooks MM, Thurston RC, Karvonen-Gutierrez C, Waetjen LE, Matthews K. The menopause transition and women’s health at midlife: a progress report from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Menopause. 2019 Oct;26(10):1213-1227. PMID: 31568098. PMCID: PMC6784846
A complete list of SWAN Study Publications can be found on the SWAN Study website:
The design for the SWAN was published:
Sowers M, Crawford S, Sternfeld B, et al. Design, survey sampling and recruitment methods of SWAN: A multicenter, multi-ethnic, community-based cohort study of women and the menopausal transition. In: Lobo RA, Kelsey J, Marcus R, eds. Menopause: Biology and pathobiology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2000:175–188.
An overview of the research results that have been produced by the SWAN Investigators is summarized in the manuscript:
El Khoudary SR, Greendale G, Crawford SL, Avis NE, Brooks MM, Thurston RC, Karvonen-Gutierrez C, Waetjen LE, Matthews K. The menopause transition and women’s health at midlife: a progress report from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Menopause. 2019 Oct;26(10):1213-1227. PMID: 31568098. PMCID: PMC6784846
A complete list of SWAN Study Publications can be found on the SWAN Study website:
In addition to publications, SWAN resources have provided the foundation for numerous funded ancillary studies. These studies have included work on the staging of reproductive aging, hormonal changes across menopause including anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), objective and subjective measures of sleep, bone strength, subclinical cardiovascular disease, cardiac fat and composition of HDL, mental health, depression and stress, breast density and breast cancer, genomics, diet, environmental pollutants, and racial/ethnic disparities. SWAN resources have also been used to support K-awards and F31-awards.
SWAN also provides valuable resources for clinicians and lay audiences. Fact sheets about women’s health on cognition, depression, bone health, cardiovascular health and other topics can be found on the SWAN Study website:
In addition to publications, SWAN resources have provided the foundation for numerous funded ancillary studies. These studies have included work on the staging of reproductive aging, hormonal changes across menopause including anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), objective and subjective measures of sleep, bone strength, subclinical cardiovascular disease, cardiac fat and composition of HDL, mental health, depression and stress, breast density and breast cancer, genomics, diet, environmental pollutants, and racial/ethnic disparities. SWAN resources have also been used to support K-awards and F31-awards.
SWAN also provides valuable resources for clinicians and lay audiences. Fact sheets about women’s health on cognition, depression, bone health, cardiovascular health and other topics can be found on the SWAN Study website:
Assessing SWAN Data and Biospecimens
If you are interested in accessing SWAN data or biospecimens for a research project, there are a number of resources that are useful in this process. The SWAN Study Website includes information about women’s health research topics, study investigators and leadership, and SWAN news. Importantly, it also has a section dedicated to data access.
Assessing SWAN Data and Biospecimens
If you are interested in accessing SWAN data or biospecimens for a research project, there are a number of resources that are useful in this process. The SWAN Study Website includes information about women’s health research topics, study investigators and leadership, and SWAN news. Importantly, it also has a section dedicated to data access.
The NIA Aging Research Biobank houses a complete collection of the SWAN de-identified datasets and all of the plasma, serum and urine specimens.
The Biobank has data from the SWAN screening cohort and the longitudinal cohort baseline visit through the 16th follow-up visit. Specific information about the SWAN data and biospecimen collection as well as the study protocols, data collection forms and codebooks can be found.
A research proposal, IRB approval or exemption, and a data use agreement (DUA) or material transfer agreement (MTA) are required to obtain access to these resources. The NIA Aging Research Biobank website provides detailed instructions about how to request data or specimens.
The ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) website houses a number of public access SWAN datasets. ICPSR has data from the SWAN screening cohort and the longitudinal cohort baseline visit through the 10th follow-up visit. In order to de-identify the data for public use, several variables are not included in these datasets, most notably study site, and no specimens are available through ICPSR. The process to obtain SWAN data through ICPSR is streamlined and hence this resource may be ideal for student projects.
Overview of Data Collected in SWAN Longitudinal Cohort (N=3302)
| SWAN Baseline | SWAN Visit 1-10 | SWAN Visit 11-16 | |
| Demographics | X | X | X |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Smoking, Passive Smoke, Alcohol Consumption | X | X | X |
| Physical Activity (Baecke) | X | X | X |
| Psychosocial | |||
| Depressive Symptoms (CES-D), Stress, Life Events | X | X | X |
| Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD7) | X | ||
| Health-Related Quality of Life (SF-36) | X | X | X |
| Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS) | X | X | |
| Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) | X | ||
| Discrimination | X | X | |
| Life Satisfaction | X | ||
| Social Support | X | X | X |
| Conner Davidson Scale (CD-RISC) | X | ||
| Health and Functioning | |||
| Sleep: Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire | X | X | X |
| Sleep: Actigraphy, Diary, Apnea, Satisfaction | X | ||
| Self-Assessed Health Status, Medical History Events | X | X | X |
| Hormone use, Medications and Supplements | X | X | X |
| FRAX, Vision, Hearing | X | ||
| Vasomotor, Vaginal Symptoms, Urinary Incontinence | X | X | X |
| Sexual Functioning | X | X | X |
| Cognitive Functioning | |||
| East Boston Memory Test, Symbol Digit Modalities, Digit Span Backward | X | X | |
| Backward Counting, Letter Number Sequence, Rey Verbal Learning Test | X | ||
| Physical Measures | |||
| Height, Weight, Blood Pressure, Waist and Hip Girth | X | X | X |
| Bone Mineral Density (BMD) (5 sites, 3 sites) | X | X | X |
| Bioimpedence (BIMP) | X | X | |
| Carotid IMT, AD, Plaque (5 sites, 4 sites) | X | ||
| Physical Functioning | |||
| Physical Role Functioning | X | X | X |
| Short Physical Performance Battery | X | ||
| Walking Speed, Chair Stand, Stair Climb | X | ||
| Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, Monofilament | X | ||
| Physical Activity Monitoring: Actigraphy | X | ||
| Falls | X | ||
| Health Outcomes | |||
| Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer Events | X | ||
| Death | X | ||
| Hysterectomy, Hospitalization | X | X | |
| Bone Fractures | X | X | |
| Laboratory Markers | |||
| Ovarian/Adrenal Hormones ( E2, FSH, T, SHBG, DHEAS, AMH/MIS) | X | X | X |
| CV risk factors (Total Cholesterol, HDL-C, Triglycerides, Glucose, Insulin) | X | X | X |
| Inflammation/Hemostasis (CRP-hs, IL-6, Fibrinogen, Factor VIIC, Endothelin -1) | X | X | X |
| Vaginal Health (Vaginal Microbiome, Cytology, Epithelial Markers) | X | ||
SWAN and SWAN-Aging Publications Related to Cognition
| Year | Title | doi |
| 2025 | Sleep timing, sleep timing regularity, and cognitive performance in women entering late adulthood: the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). | 10.1093/sleep/zsaf041 |
| 2025 | Physical function and cognition in older adult women: the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) | 10.1002/alz.086153 |
| 2024 | High-density Lipoprotein Over Midlife and Future Cognition in Women: The SWAN HDL Ancillary Study | 10.1210/clinem/dgae697 |
| 2024 | Cardiovascular Health, Race, and Decline in Cognitive Function in Midlife Women: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. | 10.1161/JAHA.123.031619
|
| 2024 | Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive function from mid- to late life. | 10.1002/alz.13583 |
| 2024 | Self-reported history of physical intimate partner violence and longitudinal cognitive performance in midlife women. | 10.1177/17455057241309782 |
| 2023 | The quantity and quality of cardiovascular fat at mid-life and future cognitive performance among women: The SWAN cardiovascular fat ancillary study | 10.1002/alz.13133 |
| 2021 | Midlife Vision Impairment and Cognitive Function in Later Life: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, Michigan Cohort. | 10.1093/gerona/glab180 |
| 2021 | Cardiovascular risk and midlife cognitive decline in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. | 10.1002/alz.12300 |
| 2021 | Longitudinal Assessment of Physical Activity and Cognitive Outcomes Among Women at Midlife. | 10.1001/jamanetworkopen |
| 2021 | Associations between sleep and cognitive performance in a racially/ethnically diverse cohort: the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation | 10.1093/sleep/zsaa182 |
| 2020 | Is Midlife Metabolic Syndrome Associated With Cognitive Function Change? The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. | 10.1210/clinem/dgaa067 |
| 2017 | Evidence for Cognitive Aging in Midlife Women: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. | 10.1371/journal.pone.0169008 |
| 2015 | Associations between aspects of pain and cognitive performance and the contribution of depressive symptoms in mid-life women: a cross-sectional analysis. | 10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.10.013. |
| 2012 | Dietary phytoestrogen intakes and cognitive function during the menopausal transition: results from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation | 10.1097/gme.0b013e318242a654 |
| 2011 | Perimenopause and cognition | 10.1016/j.ogc.2011.05.007 |
| 2010 | Menopause-associated symptoms and cognitive performance: results from the study of women’s health across the nation. | 10.1093/aje/kwq067 |
| 2009 | Cognitive functioning is related to physical functioning in a longitudinal study of women at midlife. | 10.1159/000247132 |
| 2009 | Effects of the menopause transition and hormone use on cognitive performance in midlife women. | 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a71193 |
| 2007 | Menopause transition stage and endogenous estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels are not related to cognitive performance: cross-sectional results from the study of women’s health across the nation (SWAN). | 10.1089/jwh.2006.0057 |
| 2006 | Cognitive functioning and sex steroid hormone gene polymorphisms in women at midlife. | 10.1016/j.amjmed.2006.07.030 |
| 2006 | Dietary genistein intake and cognitive performance in a multiethnic cohort of midlife women | 10.1097/01.gme.0000227336.35620.8f |
| 2003 | A population-based longitudinal study of cognitive functioning in the menopausal transition | 10.1212/01.wnl.0000079051.91602.e2 |