Religious Attendance and Mortality: An 8-Year Follow-Up of Older Mexican Americans

Abstract

Studies in the area of religion and mortality are based primarily on data derived from samples of predominantly non-Hispanic Whites. Given the importance of religion in the lives of Hispanics living in the United States, particularly older Hispanics, we examine the effects of religious attendance on mortality risk among Mexican Americans aged 65 and older. We employ data from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly to predict the risk of all-cause mortality over an 8-year follow-up period. Overall, the results show that those who attend church once per week exhibit a 32% reduction in the risk of mortality as compared with those who never attend religious services. Moreover, the benefits of weekly attendance persist with controls for sociodemographic characteristics, cardiovascular health, activities of daily living, cognitive functioning, physical mobility and functioning, social support, health behaviors, mental health, and subjective health. Our findings suggest that weekly church attendance may reduce the risk of mortality among older Mexican Americans. Future research should focus on identifying other potential mediators of the relationship between religious involvement and mortality risk in the Mexican-origin population.