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Religion and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly

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Listed:
  • Oman, D.
  • Reed, D.

Abstract

Objectives. This study analyzed the prospective association between attending religious services and all-cause mortality to determine whether the association is explainable by 6 confounding factors: demographics, health status, physical functioning, health habits, social functioning and support, and psychological state. Methods. The association between self-reported religious attendance and subsequent mortality over 5 years for 1931 older residents of Marin County, California, was examined by proportional hazards regression. Interaction terms of religion with social support were used to explore whether other forms of social support could substitute for religion and diminish its protective effect. Results. Persons who attended religious services had lower mortality than those who did not (age- and sex-adjusted relative hazard [RH] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.52, 0.78). Multivariate adjustment reduced this relationship only slightly (RH = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.62, 0.94), primarily by including physical functioning and social support. Contrary to hypothesis, religious attendance tended to be slightly more protective for those with high social support. Conclusions. Lower mortality rates for those who attend religious services are only partly explained by the 6 possible confounders listed above. Psychodynamic and other explanations need further investigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Oman, D. & Reed, D., 1998. "Religion and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 88(10), pages 1469-1475.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1998:88:10:1469-1475_3
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    Cited by:

    1. Maselko, Joanna & Kubzansky, Laura D., 2006. "Gender differences in religious practices, spiritual experiences and health: Results from the US General Social Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2848-2860, June.
    2. Janice Bell Meisenhelder & Emily N. Chandler, 2000. "Faith, Prayer, and Health Outcomes in Elderly Native Americans," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 9(2), pages 191-203, May.
    3. Jon Anson, 2004. "The Migrant Mortality Advantage: A 70 Month Follow-up of the Brussels Population," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 191-218, September.
    4. Yeager, D.M. & Glei, Dana A. & Au, Melanie & Lin, Hui-Sheng & Sloan, Richard P. & Weinstein, Maxine, 2006. "Religious involvement and health outcomes among older persons in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(8), pages 2228-2241, October.
    5. la Cour, Peter & Avlund, Kirsten & Schultz-Larsen, Kirsten, 2006. "Religion and survival in a secular region. A twenty year follow-up of 734 Danish adults born in 1914," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 157-164, January.

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