title: The relationship between religiosity and cardiovascular risk factors in Japan: a large-scale cohort study.
abstract: The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between religiosity and cardiovascular risk factors in a Japanese population. A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving individuals who underwent annual health check-ups at St. Luke's International Hospital from 2005 to 2010. Data collected included self-reported demographics, clinical information, and health habits, as well as religiosity, baseline examination, and laboratory measures. We conducted multivariable regression analyses to examine the associations between religiosity and cardiovascular risk factors at baseline and longitudinally. The analyses were performed in 2012. A total of 36,965 participants were enrolled, and 13,846 (37.8%) reported being at least somewhat religious. Compared with those who were not religious at baseline, religious participants (n = 3685) were less likely to be current smokers (odds ratio [OR], 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.67) and to report excessive alcohol consumption (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.67-0.82), and more likely to exercise at least three times a week (OR, 1.27; 95% CI,1.16-1.39) and to be obese (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.19-1.47). There were no significant differences in the rate of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or dyslipidemia prevalence. In longitudinal data analyses, religiosity was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and a higher likelihood of regular exercise and a lower incidence of diabetes over time. Individuals who were more religious were significantly more likely to have favorable health habits and fewer cardiovascular risk factors, except for a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity at baseline. Religiosity was also associated with better health habits over time and less likely to be associated with future diabetes but not with blood pressure or lipid levels.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Center for Clinical Epidemiology, St. Luke's Life Science Institute, Tokyo, Japan; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan. Electronic address: daikoba@luke.or.jp.
authors.forename: Daiki
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Study and Informatics, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimbo
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Center for Clinical Epidemiology, St. Luke's Life Science Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Roger B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Christina C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012067:Religion; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Cohort study; diabetes; obesity; religious people