life, demography, healthI heard tell that people who go to church live longer than people who don’t. Does anyone know where the study came from?
Are there any other studies into longevity and religious belief / lack of religious belief?
Here is the abstract of the study you cited: Does religious attendance prolong survival? A six-year follow-up study of 3,968 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 0.434).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 (RH 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-.81), and for both women (RH 0.65, 95% CI 0.554-.76, p<.0001) and men (RH 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-1.00, 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.
I think it's safe to attribute the increased longevity to being socially active. When you have elderly persons, especially those living alone, it's expected that their lifespan would increase if they are out and about in the community. I believe similar studies show increased longevity for married persons, persons with close friends, and so on.
In short, having friends and family around can, for a variety of reasons, help you live longer. Being old and alone is a bad combination. That the study participants were involved in religious services rather than, say, volunteering at the food bank, is (I imagine) inconsequential.
Also, check out this pop-sci article about the study: Spirituality May Help People Live Longer. In the article the study author (Dr. Koenig) pontificates on this correlation:
Researchers, including Koenig, say there are limitations to the conclusions anyone should draw from these studies. It could be that people who attend religious services benefit from the social network they form. "It might be that people in churches and synagogues watch out for others, especially the elderly," encouraging them, for example, to get help if they look sick, Koenig says.
Also, it's known that among today's older men and women, religious belief often leads to less risky behavior, such as less alcohol consumption and smoking. And religious beliefs -- or a strong feeling of spirituality outside of traditional religions -- may improve an individual's ability to cope with the stresses of everyday life and the tribulations of aging, experts say.
And later on in the article, this idea is reinforced:
Even people who don't describe themselves as religious probably can benefit from some of the lessons uncovered by research into spirituality and aging, says Harry R. Moody, Ph.D., a gerontologist and author of The Five Stages of the Soul.
"The message isn't 'Go back to church and you'll live a long time,' but stay connected with people on your own wavelength," says Moody, until recently the director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College in New York City.
This is a rather difficult question even if you would try to design an experiment because there are too many confounding factors. Income and Education levels comes up to my mind. You can read more about the studies profiling atheists by googling “atheist income” or “atheist education” =)
I’m not sure whether going to church every week would make me live longer - but it would certainly feel like it.
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