SWS midlife study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) midlife cohort study of women aged 40 to 60 years
IRAS ID
328946
Contact name
Janis Baird
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NCT04715945, Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov
Duration of Study in the UK
50 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
During the menopause, women experience changes that may cause a wide variety of physical symptoms, and psychological and social problems. Some women also experience considerable impact on their ability to work. This study will examine the menopausal transition, taking account of factors earlier in women's lives, and will consider women's experiences. The findings could lead to the development of strategies that might enable women to better prepare for the menopause and to engage more fully in their family responsibilities and in the workforce.
The Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) www.mrc.soton.ac.uk/sws is a longitudinal epidemiological cohort study. Between 1998 and 2002, 12,583 Southampton women aged 20 to 34 years were interviewed. Of these, 11,735 gave informed consent to be contacted again for future research connected with the SWS. We aim to trace all SWS baseline participants aged 40 to 60 years who agreed to future involvement and for whom we have NHS numbers (n=10,542). Using the NHS numbers for the women, we will obtain their current addresses through NHS Digital.
To a random sample of 1000 of all the SWS women for whom we can obtain addresses, we will send invitations to complete an updated consent form and a postal/online questionnaire. The questionnaire has been designed to obtain data about the women's reproductive health, health behaviours and experiences of the menopause. Items included in the questionnaire were identified through collaboration with experts and include validated scales, and questions used in other studies, including the Menopause Rating Scale. We will offer both online and paper copies of the questionnaire. Reminders will be sent as necessary.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/WM/0277
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jan 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion