Have you read your Bible all the way through???
You know the name is in the Bible but what does it mean?
Find it in Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
RELIGIOUS ATTENDANCE LINKED TO LONGER LIFE SPAN
NEW YORK, Jul 27 (Reuters Health) -- Regular attendance at church or temple services may improve health and extend life spans, according to researchers.
"There are multiple pathways by which religious attendance may reduce mortality and enhance survival," explain Dr. Harold Koenig and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, North Carolina and the National Institute for Healthcare Research, in Rockville, Maryland. Their findings are published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Gerontology.
Numerous reports have suggested that religious belief and observance has a positive influence on health. In this latest study, researchers examined data on levels of religious attendance in a group of nearly 4,000 Americans ages 65 years or older. A total of 1,177 subjects died over the 6-year study period (1986-1992).
Koenig and colleagues note that "of the subjects who attended religious service 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."
Overall, regular church/temple attendees were at a 46% reduced risk for death over the 6-year period compared with infrequent attendees. This reduction in risk declined to 28% when researchers accounted for other factors such as race, gender, health status, support of family and friends, and health practices.
Women appeared to reap greater health benefit from religious observance than men, the investigators add. After adjusting for various co-factors, women who attended religious ceremonies on a frequent basis were at 35% lower risk for death than women without such habits. In contrast, male church/temple-goers were at a 17% reduced death risk, compared with men who did not attend regular services.
How might religious attendance reduce death risks? Koenig and colleagues point out that regular worship may enlarge one's circle of social support, lower rates of depression and anxiety, reinforce responsible healthcare habits, and reduce the likelihood of bad health habits such as smoking, drinking, and unsafe sexual activity.
Inclusion in a religious community "may also have direct effects on the immune system to fend off disease," according to the authors. Reductions in stress linked with attendance may boost the efficiency of immune function, they explain.
Not all studies have supported a link between religious practice and improved health, however. As reported by Reuters Health in February, Columbia University researchers reviewed a number of studies and found their findings "weak and inconsistent." They pointed out that many studies focused on church attendance leave out one important point -- the fact that sicker individuals are less likely to be able to attend religious services on a regular basis.
SOURCE: Journal of Gerontology 1999;54.
LINKS TO BUSINESS SITES
Play it Again Music Center - For your musical needs. A site worth noting.
Scarlett Books
-Bookkeeping software and more
Angelfire - Easiest Homepages
VISIT SCARLETT DIRECTORY ETC. FOR FURTHER ADVENTURE
or visit SCARLETT ON THE NET - Just for the fun of it...
Email: scarlettmd@austin.rr.com
This web page was provided by Angelfire Communications.
The material on this page are the responsibility of its author, not Angelfire Communications.
or
Strang Communications