Religious Attendance and Biological Risk: A National Longitudinal Study of Older Adults (original) (raw)

Does Religious Attendance Prolong Survival? A Six-Year Follow-Up Study of 3,968 Older Adults

The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 1999

Background. The purpose of the study was to examine religious attendance as a predictor of survival in older adults. Methods. A probability sample of 3,968 community-dwelling adults aged 64-101 years residing in the Piedmont of North Carolina was surveyed in 1986 as part of the Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) program of the National Institutes of Health. Attendance at religious services and a wide variety of sociodemographic and health variables were assessed at baseline. Vital status of members was then determined prospectively over the next 6 years (1986-1992). Time (days) to death or censoring in days was analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results. During a median 6.3-year follow-up period, 1,777 subjects (29.7%) died. Of the subjects who attended religious services once a week or more in 1986 (frequent attenders), 22.9% died compared to 37.4% of those attending services less than once a week (infrequent attenders). The relative hazard (RH) of dying for frequent attenders was 46% less than for infrequent attenders (RH: 0.54, 95% CI 0.48-.0.61), an effect that was strongest in women (RH 0.51, CI 0.43-0.59) but also present in men (RH 0.63,95% CI 0.52-0.75). When demographics, health conditions, social connections, and health practices were controlled, this effect remained significant for the entire sample (RR 0.72,95% CI 0.64-.81), and for both women (RH 0.65,95% CI 0.55-o.76,p<.OOOI)and men (RH 0.83, 95% CIO.69-1.00,p=.05). Conclusions. Older adults, particularly women, who attend religious services at least once a week appear to have a survival advantage over those attending services less frequently.

Church attendance, allostatic load and mortality in middle aged adults

PloS one, 2017

Religiosity has been associated with positive health outcomes. Hypothesized pathways for this association include religious practices, such as church attendance, that result in reduced stress. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between religiosity (church attendance), allostatic load (AL) (a physiologic measure of stress) and all-cause mortality in middle-aged adults. Data for this study are from NHANES III (1988-1994). The analytic sample (n = 5449) was restricted to adult participants, who were between 40-65 years of age at the time of interview, had values for at least 9 out of 10 clinical/biologic markers used to derive AL, and had complete information on church attendance. The primary outcomes were AL and mortality. AL was derived from values for metabolic, cardiovascular, and nutritional/inflammatory clinical/biologic markers. Mortality was derived from a probabilistic algorithm matching the NHANES III Linked Mortality File to the National Death Index ...

Implications for public health of the religiosity-longevity relation

Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992), 2017

A growing body of scientific studies has demonstrated a consistently positive association between religious-spiritual (R/S) involvement and beneficial effects on physical health, culminating with increased longevity. This protective effect on the mortality risk is not only statistically significant but also clinically relevant. The mechanisms involved in this association include psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune pathways, greater adherence to healthy behaviors and diverse social factors. Public health strategies could better explore this association. This can be done on an individual (health professionals adopting simple measures) or institutional scale (health institutions joining religious organizations). Some evidence suggests that the benefits of R/S to health and longevity would be more present in populations from more religious regions. In this sense, the Americas (Latin and North) are privileged places for the exploration of this association, compared to regions where there is ce...