Religion, race, and breast cancer survival.
OBJECTIVE
The study investigated whether any of four measures of religiousness predicted longer survival for 145 African-American and 177 White women diagnosed with breast cancer in Connecticut between January 1987 and March 1989.


METHODS
Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models included a religious predictor and sociodemographic, biomedical, treatment, behavioral, and medical care covariables.


RESULTS
The no denomination group had a hazard ratio (HR) of 4.39 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.42, 13.64). Other measures of religiousness did not yield statistically significant results but showed a consistent pattern of nonreligiousness being more strongly and negatively related to breast cancer survival in African Americans than in Whites.


CONCLUSIONS
Exploratory models confirmed that lack of religiousness was associated in this sample with poor breast cancer survival among African American women.
Van Ness
Peter H
PH
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8034, USA. peter.vanness@yale.edu
Kasl
Stanislav V
SV
Jones
Beth A
BA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D002423:Cause of Death; D003237:Connecticut; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012067:Religion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D015996:Survival Rate; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data