Religion and Health

[hallenrm]

Here's another news, startling for those who are anti religion!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061115/...ous_healthy_dc

It says that scientific investigations have found that people who are religious and attend services are less prone to diseases.

Any takers?

Any comment?????

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by hallenrm

Here's another news, startling for those who are anti religion!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061115/...ous_healthy_dc

It says that scientific investigations have found that people who are religious and attend services are less prone to diseases.

Any takers?

Any comment?????

Similar to what they claim for marriage as I recall. And eating cranberries. Drinking red wine. Driving less. Quitting smoking. Conducting scientific studies. Owning a pet. Must be why George Burns lived such a long & healthy life. (Did Noah smoke? Krisna? Mohamed?)
Dateline: A new scientific study has found that healthy people are sick less often than unhealthy people.

Originally Posted by Dr. Joanna Maselko

"I don't think the take-home message is if you don't go to church you should start," she added.

Good stuff Charlie! Keep it comin'.

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by hallenrm

It says that scientific investigations have found that people who are religious and attend services are less prone to diseases.

Since this is Medical Science and not the theology forum, let's not turn this into a religious debate, hallenrm - unless you want it moved to theology.

That said, the study does not say "all people" - it says "seniors", and more specifically, "people over 75 years of age".

To that I'd like to say two things: There are significantly less people above the age of 70 than below (why?), and people around this age have more time to kill if they're up and running and therefore more likely to spend it doing something.

Most seniors above the age of 70 that I know of are not exactly athletes. They don't run and they don't attend health clubs etc. Basically they sit around and talk (the exception here is a colleague of mine, who at 74 is an active squash player - but he does not attend church).

The question I would ask (apart from "what qualifies as a religious service") is: "Is it likely that the selected people in this age group (ie, American seniors) are more likely to attend church than do something else"? After all, it is a known fact that a lot of Americans go to church to socialize, since for a lot of American people, and I suspect particularly for seniors, their church is the main source of friendship and social network.

And the follow-up question then would be, "what is the common activity of the people who do NOT go to church but who have good pulminary health".

The paper is specifically about lung health in seniors over 70.

[Tormod]

I also think this article from Harvard, about Joanna Maselko's doctoral thesis, explains things:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/now/sep17/student.html

Originally Posted by Harvard News

Using the same MacArthur study as a basis, Maselko focused on the respiratory health of both men and women, detecting a slower rate of decline in pulmonary function among attendees of regular religious services. Lung function was measured by peak expiratory flow rate, or how fast the participants could exhale air.

Maselko acknowledged that it is difficult to isolate factors that can account for religion’s effect on health. Religion may give people access to social networks that benefit their overall well-being, she said, but she believes that the explanation is more complex. Religion may also help deepen social connections, family bonds, and daily life in a way that keeps people healthier and wards off stress, she suggested.

"At the end of the day, that person has access to resources that other people don’t have," she said.

[Zythryn]

Or, I wonder if the effect is similiar to the effect responsible for the greater level of health of people who meditate?

[hallenrm]

Originally Posted by Tormod

Since this is Medical Science and not the theology forum, let's not turn this into a religious debate, hallenrm - unless you want it moved to theology.

Did it sound like a precursor to a theology debate? If so, I am sorry, that was never my intention

I think, i can offer a theory if the observed phenomenon is really true

Going to a church or a temple, for many people, means escape from a turbulent mind, very characteristic of a modern human. The increased moments of mental peace, may result in the formation of fewer free radicals, which are known to lead to many malignancies of the body.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by hallenrm

It says that scientific investigations have found that people who are religious and attend services are less prone to diseases.

It could be that they get out and benefit from fresh air by leaving their homes to attend religious services, or that social interaction stimulates their mind and hence their immune system, or that drinking the wine from the same cup as others introduces bacteria and their immune system benefits, or that the wine reduces their tension, or...

Correlation does not prove causation, so please do be cautious of spurious relationships.

Originally Posted by Zythryn

Or, I wonder if the effect is similiar to the effect responsible for the greater level of health of people who meditate?

It's possible there is some overlap, but the true factor is much more adequately described by the lack of stress on a relaxed mind, often a result of focussed meditation. If your body is not constantly tearing itself apart with cortisol and adrenaline, it will be healthier, but the meditation or consideration of religious concepts isn't necessarily what caused it.


Cheers.

[cwes99_03]

Yah, I'm leaning toward that last statement by iNow. People over the age of 70 who get out regularly are active.
Repeated studies have shown that the way to keep healthy when over 55 is to stay active. The only problem recently observed is that those baby boomers that have taken this advice are running up surgery bills to replace a lot of joints.

[pgrmdave]

running up surgery bills

I read this as "running up sugary bills" and got quite a confused image...