Religious services prolong life (researchers say)
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- November
- 24
You want to live longer? It may help to attend religious services more often.
That’s the finding of a new study by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
According to a statement:
The researchers evaluated the religious practices of 92,395 post-menopausal women participating in the WHI. They examined the prospective association of religious affiliation, religious service attendance, and strength and comfort derived from religion with subsequent cardiovascular events and overall rates of mortality. Although the study showed as much as a 20 percent decrease in the overall risk of mortality for those attending religious services, it did not show any consistent change in rates of morbidity and death specifically related to cardiovascular disease, with no explanation readily evident.The study adjusted for participation of individuals within communal organizations and group activities that promote a strong social life and enjoyable routines, behaviors known to lead to overall wellness. However, even after controlling for such behavior and other health-related factors, the improvements in morbidity and mortality rates exceeded expectations.
Eliezer Schnall, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of psychology at Yeshiva College of Yeshiva University and lead author of the study, said: “Interestingly, the protection against mortality provided by religion cannot be entirely explained by expected factors that include enhanced social support of friends or family, lifestyle choices and reduced smoking and alcohol consumption. There is something here that we don’t quite understand. It is always possible that some unknown or unmeasured factors confounded these results.”
Yeah, I know that Yeshiva is an Orthodox Jewish institution. Is the study somehow biased? I can’t say, but it was published in “Psychology and Health,” the journal of the European Health Psychology Society. Europeans are generally post-religious, right?
You can read the actual study HERE.
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 11:01 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
