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Posted on Nov 21, 2008, 9 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
Research suggests that regularly attending religious services can reduce the risk of death by approximately 20%.
Research suggests that regularly attending religious services can reduce the risk of death by approximately 20%.
Eliezer Schnall and colleagues studied data on the religious practices of 92,395 postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Study. Results showed that people who attended a religious service at least once a week had a 20% lower risk of death from all causes, compared with women who did not attend any religious services.
“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,” said Dr. Schnall in a news release.
Schnall E, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Swencionis C, Zemon V, Tinker L, O'Sullivan MJ, Van Horn L, Goodwin B. The relationship between religion and cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in the women's health initiative observational study. Journal of Psychology and Health. First published on November 17th 2008. DOI: 10.1080/08870440802311322
News release: Study Suggests Attending Religious Services Sharply Cuts Risk of Death. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. November 19th 2008.
