Attending religious services linked to lower BP

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Frequent attendance at religious services may not only improve spiritual health, it may have physical benefits as well, according to the results of a large, nationwide survey.

When compared with subjects who never attended religious services, those who attended services at least once a week had lower blood pressures and a lower prevalence of high blood pressure, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta report.

High blood pressure has been reported to be associated with social and cultural factors. Some previous studies have also found a link between religious service attendance and lower blood pressure, but others have found no relationship. Also, few large, nationwide, studies in this area have been conducted.

Dr. R. Frank Gillum and Dr. Deborah D. Ingram therefore analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included a multiethnic, national sample of nearly 14,500 American men and women 20 years or older. Study participants were asked how often they attended church or religious services and underwent several blood pressure measurements at home and in mobile examination centers.

Almost 40 percent of the survey respondents reported attending religious services once a week or more often, 28 percent said they attended religious services less than once a week and 33 percent said they never attended religious services.

High blood pressure was less prevalent among men and women who attended religious services at least weekly than among those who never attended services, the researchers report in Psychosomatic Medicine.

In particular, people who attended weekly services had systolic blood pressure levels (the top number of the blood pressure reading) 1.46 mm Hg lower than never-attenders, and those who attended services more than once a week had systolic blood pressure levels 3.03 mm Hg lower than never-attenders, study findings indicate.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, May/June 2006.