Religion and the quality of life in the last year of life.
OBJECTIVE
Religious involvement in old age appears to remain quite stable until the very end of life, reflecting patterns established earlier in life. Are there differences in quality of life (QOL) for those who are religiously involved in that last year compared with those who are not?


METHODS
We studied 499 elderly persons participating in ongoing annual interviews who died in the 12 months following an interview. We examined public and subjective religious involvement and indicators of health-related and psychosocial QOL, including health status and functional ability, family and friendship networks, depression, and well-being.


RESULTS
More deeply religious respondents were more likely to see friends, and they had better self-rated health, fewer depressive feelings, and were observed by the interviewer to find life more exciting compared with the less religious. Respondents receiving strength and comfort from religion reported poorer self-rated health. Those who attended religious services often were most likely to have attended holiday parties, even after adjusting for health status. Significant interactions indicated that the disabled benefited more from both public and subjective religious involvement than the nondisabled.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, QOL in the last year of life is positively related to religious involvement, particularly its more subjective dimensions.
Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, 30 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. idler@rci.rutgers.edu
Ellen L
EL
Idler
Julie
J
McLaughlin
Stanislav
S
Kasl
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012067:Religion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires