No Religion Equated to Smoking towards Poor Health

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" Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

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No Religion Equated to Smoking towards Poor Health

Wednesday, August 11, 1999

[Many families with autism face high levels of stress, leading to poor

health. Science here says religion can help as much as not smoking towards

long-term good health. Besides, who wants to watch Sunday football games

when you could be in church? By D. on, Associated Press Writer]

In another report linking good health with religion, Duke University

researchers say seniors with regular church or synagogue attendance are not

only healthier but also more likely to live longer than the non-religious.

The respective mortality risks of churchgoers to non-church goers are

comparable to those experienced by nonsmokers versus smokers.

The researchers, studying nearly 4,000 North Carolinians over 64 years

old, found that the death rate of the faithful was 28 percent less than

those who didn't attend services regularly.

Studies in recent years focusing on the spiritual dimension of health

have yet to show that religious attendance or spirituality cause physical

wholeness. But a mounting body of evidence associates the religious with

better mental health, lower blood pressure and other health improvements.

The next step, says the study's lead author, Dr. Harold Koenig, is to

identify the behavioral and biological mechanisms linking religion to

disease prevention and good health.

" These studies do not show that if they are going to church for health

reasons, their health will improve, " Koenig said. " But if people go to

church for religious reasons, they have better health and survive longer. "

The findings released in the July-August medical sciences edition of

the Journal of Gerontology examined 3,968 adults in five North Carolina

counties from 1986 -92.

Researchers interviewed participants each year about church attendance,

their health, social support and alcohol and tobacco use. The subjects,

mostly Christians and Jews, were categorized according to whether they

attended religious meetings once weekly.

By 1992, 1,177 participants had died.

Analyses showed 46 percent fewer of the church attendees died during

the period than non-churchgoers. But the rate dropped to 28 percent when the

differing ages, health and social factors and smoking and alcohol use within

the sample were taken into account.

The respective mortality risks are comparable to those experienced by

smokers versus nonsmokers, Koenig said. The risk decline was 35 percent in

women and 17 percent in men, according to the study.

The report, funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, is not

the first to tie religious practice to a lower risk of dying. A California

study of 5,300 people over 28 years generated similar findings, but the

survey sample ranged from 21 to 65 years of age. And the sample's mortality

was 15 percent, compared with about 30 percent for the Duke study.

The health benefits of church attendance may be related to the

increased social support found in religious groups, Koenig said.

" Other members are committed to you, praying for you, " he said. " You

get sick and don't show up for church, and people call you and ask why you

weren't there. "

Church attendance also may prompt the faithful to be more conscientious

about taking medication. A deep religious faith, while not synonymous with

attending church, also helps people cope with tragedy and may relieve

stress, Koenig said.

Stan Kasl, an epidemiology professor at the Yale University medical

school, called the Duke study " an important contribution " to firming up the

church-good health association.

" We don't have many of these kind of studies, " said

Kasl.____________________________________________________________

editor: Lenny Schafer east coast editor: , Ph.D.

schafer@... CIJOHN@...

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