Religious attendance: more cost-effective than lipitor?
BACKGROUND
A recent meta-analysis demonstrates a robust but small association between weekly religious attendance and longer life. However, the practical significance of this finding remains controversial.


METHODS
Age specific, actuarial death rates were modified according to published odds ratios to model the additional years of life attributable to: (1) weekly religious attendance; (2) regular physical exercise; and (3) statin-type lipid-lowering agents. Secondary analyses estimated the approximate cost for each additional year of life gained.


RESULTS
Weekly attendance at religious services accounts for an additional 2 to 3 life-years compared with 3 to 5 life-years for physical exercise and 2.5 to 3.5 life-years for statin-type agents. The approximate cost per life-year gained was between 2,000 dollars and 6,000 dollars for regular exercise, 3,000 dollars and 10,000 dollars for regular religious attendance, and between 4,000 dollars and 14,000 dollars for statin-type agents.


CONCLUSIONS
The real-world, practical significance of regular religious attendance is comparable to commonly recommended therapies, and rough estimates even suggest that religious attendance may be more cost-effective than statins. Religious attendance is not a mode of medical therapy, but these findings warrant more and better quality research designed to examine the associations between religion and health, and the potential relevance such associations might have for medical practice.
Hall
Daniel E
DE
Department of General Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. revdocdan@aya.yale.edu
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D015444:Exercise; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012067:Religion; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors