​​​​​​Long Life Study (W64)

7,875 women from the WHI Extension II Medical Records Cohort (MRC) participated in the WHI Long Life Study (LLS). The LLS consisted of a one-time in-person visit (conducted sometime between March 2012 and May 2013) with a blood draw, a brief clinical assessment, and an assessment of functional status. 14,081 MRC women were eligible for LLS (see below for eligibility requirements).

Primary aims of the blood collection:

Please see the W64 (Long Life Study) Data page​ for more information.

LLS data and biospecimens are now available to researchers! The data and blood collected in the LLS establishes a new baseline from which numerous studies on aging and health/disease can be conducted.  The data are comparable to WHI clinic data and they are now included in the WHI Investigator's Dataset (Form 301).
Long Life Study (LLS)

• Eligible women: 14,081
• Consenters: 9,242
• Participants (completed exam): 7,875
• Successful blood draw: 7,481
  
• CBC Results available: 7,406
• CVD Biomarker Results available: 7,325

Synopsis of LLS eligibility requirements

[click here for the full eligible population description]

• Medical Records Cohort [all Hormone Trial, African Americans, and Hispanics in WHI Extension II]
• CVD biomarker data from WHI baseline
• GWAS data
• at least 63 years old by 1/1/12
• Exclusion criteria:
• unable to provide informed consent
  
• residing in an institution (e.g. skilled nursing facility)
  

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Data and Biospecimens available for LLS participants

• CVD Biomarker Results: WHI baseline and LLS blood collection
• GWAS data
• Note: GWAS data for the LLS participants in phase III of enrollment will be added to dbGaP in 2015
• CBC data: WHI baseline and LLS blood collection
• Form 301 data (data collected during the LLS visit) [Click here for F301]:
• pulse, BP
• height, weight, waist circumference
• Grip strength
• Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB) components:
• Balance tests
• Timed Walk
• Chair stand
  
• LLS blood (please contact the WHI help desk (helpdesk@whi.org) for specific sample availability questions)
• Serum (separator tube)
• EDTA plasma
• EDTA plasma (separator tube)
• RBC
• Extracted DNA
• Extracted RNA – a NEW WHI resource! (examples of uses for RNA: studies on gene regulation, gene expression, or miRNA analysis)

WHI Long Life Study Documentation

• IRB approved protocol: Section 5.4 of the WHI Extension Protocol includes the WHI Long Life Study, OPACH, and the WHI-FI Study.
• Eligible Population description: Due to lower than expected consent and participation rates, the eligible population was expanded twice. Click [here​] for a description of the entire eligible population. A brief synopsis of each phase of enrollment is described in Table 1 below.
  
• Women's Health Initiative and Long Life Study Flow Diagram
  
• Table of Data Collection Activites:  Please refer to this table for a synopsis of the type of data collected, procedures and equipment.
• Consent Documents: The Long Life Study consent request included a cover letter and consent form. The consent form covers both the WHI Long Life Study in-person visit and OPACH. (The OPACH Calibration Study had a separate consent form.)
• Blood Protocol: The WHI Long Life Study blood protocol was developed based on current literature and in consultation with laboratory experts. 
• Blood Assays Available on Long Life Study participants: List of analytes which have been done by other studies on participants who are eligible to be in the Long Life Study (last updated 03/21/14).
• Counts of Selected Confirmed outcomes for LLS participants
• LLS Data Dictionary: Click here for the F301 data dictionary
• Descriptive statistics for LLS participants: Please see section 12 of the 2014 WHI Annual Progress Report​

Table 1: Inclusion criteria by phase

Ancillary Studies to LLS

In addition to the main in-person visit that collected physical measurements, functional measurements, and blood, the WHI Long Life Study included two funded ancillary studies: OPACH (AS286) and WHI-FI (AS340). These ancillary studies are described below.

OPACH - Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health in Women (PI Andrea LaCroix; AS286)

The goals of this study are to increase understanding of the health of aging women – specifically the association of physical activity with cardiovascular events and total mortality. The eligible population for OPACH is identical to the LLS with one exception: OPACH excluded women who were non-ambulatory. Participants who consented to LLS had the option of also consenting to OPACH on the same consent form.  OPACH-specific activities include (1) wearing an accelerometer (physical activity monitor) for 1 week, (2) completing a Sleep Log for 1 week, (3) completing a Physical Activity Questionnaire, and (4) completing a Falls Calendar form every month for a year. OPACH activities will continue until one year after the last OPACH participant receives her OPACH 'kit'. While the LLS visits are complete, the OPACH activities will continue for many participants through 2014.

Two hundred OPACH participants completed an OPACH clinic visit for the OPACH Calibration Study. The women eligible for the Calibration Study were separately consented from OPACH.

WHI-Food Intake Study (WHI-FI) - Evidence for Establishing Optimum Protein Intake in Older Adults (PI Jeannette Beasley; AS340)

The WHI-FI Study also shares the LLS population. The LLS post-visit thank you letter packet introduced participants to the WHI-FI Study and requested that they complete a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). A total of 6,094 FFQs were returned by LLS participants. 

For more information, please see the study pages for: [AS286 - OPACH]  [AS340 - WHI-FI].