title: Religious involvement and mental disorders in mainland china.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study aims to examine the association between religious involvement and mental disorder (anxiety disorder, mood disorder, alcohol use disorder) in a general Chinese population, and explore connections between religious belief and mental disorders in the Hui and Han ethnic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were examined from a representative sample of 2,770 community-dwelling adults in the province of Ningxia located in western China. Self-reported religious attendance and the importance of religious in daily life were measured. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to diagnose mental disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the overall sample, the importance of religious affiliation was positively associated with mental disorders (especially anxiety) (p<0.01). No association was found between any religious characteristic and mood disorders or alcohol use disorders. With regard to analyses within different ethnic groups, religious affiliation was positively associated with mental disorder in Han ethnicity (p<0.01), but not in Hui ethnicity. When stratified by age and ethnic group, religious affiliation was associated positively with mental disorder in younger Han (p<0.01); whereas high religiosity was associated positively with mental disorder in older Hui (p<0.05). Among older Hui, however, religious affiliation was inversely associated with mood disorder (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to most previous studies in Western populations, religious involvement is less likely to be inversely related to mental disorder in Mainland China, although this association varies by age and ethnic group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America; Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Harold G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
authors.forename: Yuhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Department, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
authors.forename: Wanrui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yueqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012067:Religion; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D057566:Self Report