Religious service attendance and decline in pulmonary function in a high-functioning elderly cohort

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Psychosocial Medicine

Background:

• Pulmonary function is a key health indicator, but psychosocial predictors are understudied.
• Religious activity is increasingly recognized as a health-promoting factor, particularly in older populations.
• The relationship between religious activity and pulmonary function remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between religious attendance and the rate of pulmonary function decline.
• To determine if regular religious service attendance impacts lung function over time.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1,174 healthy elderly individuals from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging.
• Longitudinal data collection over 3 waves, averaging 4.6 years of follow-up.
• Utilized a linear mixed model with repeated measures to assess peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) changes in relation to religious attendance.

Main Results:

• Regular religious service attendance correlated with a significantly slower decline in pulmonary function for both men and women.
• Men attending services regularly showed a 3.71 L/min/year slower decline, while women showed a 3.27 L/min/year slower decline.
• These associations persisted even after accounting for differences in smoking habits and physical activity levels.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the hypothesis that religious activity may offer a protective effect on pulmonary health in the elderly.
• Regular participation in religious services could be a beneficial factor for maintaining lung function in aging populations.