title: The NICHD Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study: methods and operational results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper presents methods and operational results of a population-based case-control study examining the effects of oral contraceptive use on breast cancer risk among white and black women aged 35-64 years in five U.S. locations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases were women newly diagnosed with breast cancer during July 1994 through April 1998. Controls were identified through random digit dialing (RDD) using unclustered sampling with automated elimination of nonworking numbers. Sampling was density-based, with oversampling of black women. In-person interviews were conducted from August 1994 through December 1998. Blood samples were obtained from subsets of cases and controls, and tissue samples were obtained from subsets of cases. A computerized system tracked subjects through study activities. Special attention was devoted to minimizing exposure misclassification, because any exposure-disease associations were expected to be small.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An estimated 82% of households were screened successfully through RDD. Interviews were completed for 4575 cases (2953 whites; 1622 blacks) and 4682 controls (3021 whites; 1661 blacks). Interview response rates for cases and controls were 76.5% and 78.6%, respectively, with lower rates for black women and older women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The methodologic details of this large collaboration may assist researchers conducting similar investigations.
authors: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors: Polly A
authors: PA
authors: Marchbanks
authors: Jill A
authors: JA
authors: Mcdonald
authors: Hoyt G
authors: HG
authors: Wilson
authors: Nancy M
authors: NM
authors: Burnett
authors: Janet R
authors: JR
authors: Daling
authors: Leslie
authors: L
authors: Bernstein
authors: Kathleen E
authors: KE
authors: Malone
authors: Brian L
authors: BL
authors: Strom
authors: Sandra A
authors: SA
authors: Norman
authors: Linda K
authors: LK
authors: Weiss
authors: Jonathan M
authors: JM
authors: Liff
authors: Phyllis A
authors: PA
authors: Wingo
authors: Ronald T
authors: RT
authors: Burkman
authors: Suzanne G
authors: SG
authors: Folger
authors: Jesse A
authors: JA
authors: Berlin
authors: Dennis M
authors: DM
authors: Deapen
authors: Giske
authors: G
authors: Ursin
authors: Ralph J
authors: RJ
authors: Coates
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: Simon
authors: Michael F
authors: MF
authors: Press
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Spirtas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods*; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D018456:Reproductive Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal