![Religious Services Linked to Lower Risk of Deaths of Despair Religious Services Linked to Lower Risk of Deaths of Despair](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/religious-and-spiritual-beliefs.jpg)
‘The link between service attendance and lower risk of deaths from despair was somewhat stronger for women in the study than for men.’
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The study will be published online in JAMA Psychiatry on May 6, 2020. Religion may be a social determinant of health, and previous research has shown that attending religious services may be associated with a lower risk of various factors related to despair, including heavy drinking, substance misuse, and suicidality.
For this study, researchers analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II on 66,492 women as well as data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study on 43,141 men. Among the women, there were 75 deaths from despair: 43 suicides, 20 deaths from poisoning, and 12 deaths from liver disease and cirrhosis. Among the men there were 306 deaths from despair: 197 suicides, 6 deaths from poisoning, and 103 deaths from liver diseases and cirrhosis.
After adjusting for numerous variables, the study showed that women who attended services at least once per week had a 68% lower risk of death from despair compared to those never attending services. Men who attended services at least once per week had 33% lower risk of death from despair.
The study authors noted that religious participation may serve as an important antidote to despair and an asset for sustaining a sense of hope and meaning. They also wrote that religion may be associated with strengthened psychosocial resilience by fostering a sense of peace and positive outlook, and promoting social connectedness.
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Source-Eurekalert