Harvard Chan School, Apple, and NIH launch women’s health study
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Apple, and the National Institutes of Health today launched the Apple Women’s Health Study. The large-scale longitudinal study, led by a team of researchers at Harvard Chan School, leverages participants’ voluntary use of a smartphone research app to advance understanding of menstrual and gynecological health. By making use of information and study activities from personal devices, the first-of-its-kind study will shed light on women’s overall health needs across the lifespan. The multi-year study has the potential to become the largest and longest-running longitudinal study of women’s health in the U.S. “Treating the menstrual cycle as a vital sign, such as heart rate or blood pressure, could lead to the earlier detection of many health conditions, both gynecological and systemic, as well as a better understanding of women’s reproductive health and health needs overall,” said study researcher Shruthi Mahalingaiah, assistant professor of environmental reproductive and women’s health at...