The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), the largest study of its kind in Australia, has reached its 30-year milestone. Founded on April 22, 1996, as a collaboration between the University of Newcastle and the University of Queensland, the study now tracks more than 57,000 women across regional, remote, and metropolitan parts of Australia, with findings shaping policy and practice at state, national, and international levels.
The study collects survey data from women across four generations – those born between 1921-26, 1946-51, 1973-78, and 1989-95 – covering physical and mental health, health service use, health behaviors, risk factors, and socio-demographic factors. In 2026, the oldest active participants are turning 105, and the study includes 135 people over the age of 100 still completing surveys.
“The study was founded at a time when women’s health research was viewed as little more than the sum of our reproductive parts. More often than not, research overlooked the broader social and psychological context in which women live,” said Professor Deb Loxton, ALSWH director, who has been involved for over 20 years.
The study has produced findings with direct policy impact. In 2023, ALSWH data showed one in seven Australian women aged 40-44 were diagnosed with endometriosis – a greater rate than previously reported. Those findings informed the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report on endometriosis prevalence and hospitalization rates. Researchers have since developed a simple five-minute questionnaire using ALSWH data to help address the average six-to-eight-year diagnostic delay.
“Endometriosis has become a hot topic in recent years, but we were already asking study participants about the condition back in 2000,” said Professor Gita Mishra AO, University of Queensland director of the ALSWH. “If we hadn’t asked these questions all those years ago, we wouldn’t have the incredible resource of data we have today.”
ALSWH data has also been instrumental in domestic violence research and policy. Professor Loxton’s work was the first to show that mental and physical health effects of domestic violence can last decades, and informed the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. New data in 2025 revealed that women who experienced domestic violence were more likely to develop two or more chronic health conditions, with onset more than eight years earlier.
Over the past decade, the study has expanded into intergenerational research, now including the children of the youngest cohort to link children’s health to their mothers’ data. The study is funded by the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
