“Religion can have a favorable impact on individual-level health,” according to a study published in January in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The study, Religion and Death in the United States, is a statistical analysis based on data from the 2010 United States Religion Census and the Public Health Institute County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.
An article on the study on 2 Minute Medicine, a physician-run medical media resource, summarized its findings.
“Results demonstrated that counties with lower mortality were associated with higher proportions of religion adherents and a greater diversity of adherents and congregations,” it states. “Furthermore, when controlling for demographic and health factors, religion had less added value; however, the direction of association between religion and mortality remained consistent.”
Although results were limited because ‘mortality’ was the single factor used to measure population health, the study does point to religion being a positive factor in the health and longevity of religious Americans.
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The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
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