Is Religiousness Associated with Better Lifestyle and Health Among Danes? Findings from SHARE

Evidence of a possible association between religion and health in secular societies is sparse. We therefore conducted a nationwide study using data from 1596 Danes aged 50 + who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) wave 1 (2004-2005) and were followed up betw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health
Authors: Herold, Steffen Christensen (Author) ; Hvidt, Niels Christian 1969- (Author) ; Möller, Sören (Author) ; Christensen, Kaare (Author) ; Ahrenfeldt, Linda Juel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. 2022
In: Journal of religion and health
Further subjects:B Denmark
B Depression
B Lifestyle
B Self-rated health
B Religiousness
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Evidence of a possible association between religion and health in secular societies is sparse. We therefore conducted a nationwide study using data from 1596 Danes aged 50 + who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) wave 1 (2004-2005) and were followed up between 2006 and 2015, to investigate the association between religiousness and health including a lifestyle index. Results from the longitudinal models adjusted for age and gender showed that being religiously educated by parents, taking part in a religious organization, and praying were factors associated with fewer risk factors of unhealthy lifestyle. Furthermore, being religiously educated was associated with lower odds of self-rated poor health and depressive symptoms. Results were overall consistent across the cross-sectional and longitudinal models and persisted after further adjustment for education and marital status. These findings provide support for a positive relationship between religiousness and health among Danes, particularly for those being religiously educated by their parents.
ISSN:1573-6571
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10943-020-01050-3