title: Religious attendance, spirituality, and major depression in Canada: a 14-year follow-up study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although there have been numerous studies on the relation of religion or spirituality and major depression, few used a longitudinal, nationally representative sample. Our study sought to examine the effect of religious attendance, self-declared importance of spiritual values, and self-identification as a spiritual person on major depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data coming from 8 waves (1994 to 2008) of the longitudinal Canadian National Population Health Survey were used. People (n = 12 583) who were not depressed at baseline (1994) were followed during 14 years. Depression at each cycle was assessed using the Composite International Interview-Short Form for Major Depression. Weibull proportional hazards regression was used to model longitudinal risk of depression, with religious attendance or spirituality as a predictor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, monthly religious attenders tended to be older, female, and married, compared with occasional and nonattenders. The Weibull regression model revealed a 22% lower risk of depression for monthly attenders (hazard ratio 0.78, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.95), compared with nonattenders, after controlling for age, household income, family and personal history of depression, marital status, education, and perceived social support. Neither self-reported importance of spiritual values nor identification as a spiritual person was related to major depressive episodes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Attending religious services at least monthly has a protective effect against major depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
authors.forename: Lloyd
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Balbuena
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baetz
authors.forename: Rudy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bowen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D055815:Young Adult