Study Data

Here we present some graphs and charts that describe the California Teachers Study members. The data uses members’ questionnaire responses and cancer and mortality data from other sources, such as the California Cancer Registry. More information on the study is available in our paper, titled ‘High breast cancer incidence rates among California teachers’ (see publications).

	AGE AT ENROLLMENT TO THE STUDY The California Teachers Study began in the fall of 1995. Members joined by completing our first questionnaire throughout 1995, 1996 and 1997. This bar chart shows the ages of the 133,479 women in the California Teachers Study at the time they completed the first survey. The study encompasses a wide range of ages, from those in their twenties to those in their nineties. Many women were in their late forties and early fifties, and the majority were over age 50 years, at enrollment to the study.
	AGE OF MEMBERS AS OF JANUARY 1ST, 2005 This bar chart shows the ages of the California Teachers Study members at the beginning of 2005, which is around nine years after the start of the study. There are still a wide range of ages included in our study, from age 30 years to over 100 years. The largest groups that are now represented are women in their late fifties and early sixties.
	RACE/ETHNICITY The California Teachers Study is primarily composed of non-Hispanic white participants, but substantial numbers of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Island women are also members, as shown in this pie chart.
	CALIFORNIA MAP SHOWING STUDY MEMBERS’ RESIDENCE The California Teachers Study members are distributed throughout California, as shown by this map, which is based on residence at the start of the study. Not shown on the map are the 8,865 members that were living out-of-state at enrollment to the study. These participants live primarily in the states of Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada.
	MOST COMMON CAUSES OF MORTALITY, 1995-2003 This graph shows the most common causes of mortality among the California Teachers Study, during the years 1995-2003. The majority of deaths are attributable to heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, and lung cancer. The numbers given are age-adjusted annual rates per 100,000.
	CANCER INCIDENCE IN THE CALIFORNIA TEACHERS STUDY Shown here are the age-adjusted rates of cancer for the major cancer sites in California Teachers Study participants. Also shown, for comparison, are cancer rates among non-Hispanic white women aged 20 years or older in California. The results confirm the anticipated high rates of breast cancer in teachers. The numbers given are average annual age-adjusted cancer incidence rates (standardized to the 1970 US population). Age-adjusted rates are provided to allow for differences in age between the Teachers in our study and the general California population. Adjusting for age means that differences in rates will not be due to one group having more or less older person than another group.