Religious involvement and mortality: a meta-analytic review

Area of Science:

• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The relationship between psychosocial factors and health outcomes is a significant area of research.
• Religious involvement is a common psychosocial factor with potential implications for mortality.
• Previous studies have suggested a link between religiousness and longevity, but robust meta-analyses are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively synthesize evidence on the association between religious involvement and all-cause mortality.
• To assess the robustness and magnitude of this association across diverse populations.
• To explore potential moderator variables influencing the religious involvement-mortality link.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a meta-analysis of data from 42 independent samples.
• Examined the association between a standardized measure of religious involvement and all-cause mortality.
• Analyzed data to determine odds ratios and confidence intervals for mortality risk.

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between higher religious involvement and lower all-cause mortality (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.20-1.39).
• Individuals with higher religious involvement were more likely to be alive at follow-up.
• The strength of the association varied with moderator variables, but the overall link remained robust.

Conclusions:

• Religious involvement is a significant protective factor against all-cause mortality.
• The observed association is comparable in magnitude to other established psychosocial risk factors.
• Findings were not attributable to publication bias, suggesting reliability.