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. 2013 May;23(5):239-45.
doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2013.03.002.

Frequency of private spiritual activity and cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women: the Women's Health Initiative

Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher  1 , George Fitchett, Kathleen M Hovey, Eliezer Schnall, Cynthia Thomson, Christopher A Andrews, Sybil Crawford, Mary Jo O'Sullivan, Stephen Post, Rowan T Chlebowski, Judith Ockene
Affiliations

Frequency of private spiritual activity and cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women: the Women's Health Initiative

Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher et al. Ann Epidemiol. 2013 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Spirituality has been associated with better cardiac autonomic balance, but its association with cardiovascular risk is not well studied. We examined whether more frequent private spiritual activity was associated with reduced cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.

Methods: Frequency of private spiritual activity (prayer, Bible reading, and meditation) was self-reported at year 5 of follow-up. Cardiovascular outcomes were centrally adjudicated, and cardiovascular risk was estimated from proportional hazards models.

Results: Final models included 43,708 women (mean age, 68.9 ± 7.3 years; median follow-up, 7.0 years) free of cardiac disease through year 5 of follow-up. In age-adjusted models, private spiritual activity was associated with increased cardiovascular risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.31 for weekly vs. never; HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.11-1.40 for daily vs. never). In multivariate models adjusted for demographics, lifestyle, risk factors, and psychosocial factors, such association remained significant only in the group with daily activity (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.03-1.30). Subgroup analyses indicate this association may be driven by the presence of severe chronic diseases.

Conclusions: Among aging women, higher frequency of private spiritual activity was associated with increased cardiovascular risk, likely reflecting a mobilization of spiritual resources to cope with aging and illness.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology [STROBE] diagram. CV = cardiovascular; WHI-OS = Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adjusted associations between private spiritual activity and fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, overall and by presence/absence of severe chronic diseases before year 5. Severe chronic diseases included any cancer (except nonmelanoma skin cancer), diabetes, liver disease, dialysis, asthma, emphysema, lupus, Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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