RT Article
T1 Religion and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
JF Journal of religion and health
VO 36
IS 2
SP 155
OP 164
A1 Lapane, Kate L.
A1 Allan, Catherine
A1 Carleton, Richard A.
A1 Lasater, Thomas M.
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
YR 1997
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1669046281
AB Objectives: To determine whether cardiovascular-disease risk-factor profiles of majority-church members differ from those of non-church members we examined a large population-based random sample. Methods: Data from the two cross-sectional surveys of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program conducted in 1981-82 (n = 2442) and 1983-84 (n = 2799) were evaluated. Trained interviewers collected physiological measures including height, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a small blood sample (for total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein). Smoking, exercise, sociodemographics, and church membership were determined by self-report. Results: Church members were older, more likely to be female, Portuguese, married, have more people living in their households, and were also more likely to be greater than 20% overweight. Forty-eight percent of church members reported never having smoked cigarettes compared to 35.4% of non-church members. Differences in systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol were attributable to age, sex, and ethnicity. Conclusions: Aside from cigarette-smoking status and body-mass index, the risk profile of the two groups was not different, indicating that health-promotion interventions geared to the general population may not need to be tailored too extensively for members of religious organizations based on health status. On the other hand, the demographic differences and easy access to entire families may require more attention.
K1 Diastolic Blood Pressure
K1 Physiological Measure
K1 Risk Profile
K1 Systolic Blood Pressure
K1 Total Cholesterol
DO 10.1023/A:1027444621177