Although it is generally believed that a simple lifestyle may promote
health, a recent study among Trappist and Benedictine monks in the Net
herlands reported an increase in general morbidity (Am J Epidemiol 199
3;138:569-73). As this increased morbidity might be the consequence of
an increased life expectancy, we studied the level of mortality among
these contemplative monks. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and d
eath rates were calculated from 1,523 monks whose data were abstracted
from the monastery rolls of the period 1900-1994. For this period the
SMR was 0.88 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.81-0.95). A lower SMR wa
s present in almost all of the age categories and in all except one of
the monasteries, There were two distinct subperiods. In the pre-World
War II era, the SMR was 1.25 (95% Cl 1.04-1.49), but it lowered to 0.
76 (95% Cl 0.69-0.85) after World War II, From 1950 on, mortality in t
he monasteries remained lower than in the general population, even aft
er correction for the generally higher educational level of the monks,
The death rates showed a continuing decline from 1900 to 1950. After
1950, the mortality among monks declined further at a time when the se
cular trend of decreasing mortality leveled off in the general male po
pulation. The higher mortality before World War II was largely unexpla
ined, From the 1950s onward, the mortality among monks was lower, pres
umably because of the epidemic of lung cancer and cardiovascular disea
se in the general population. Taken together, the present and earlier
data suggest that, among contemplative monks, a simple lifestyle is as
sociated with an extension of life in which they suffer from nonfatal
morbidity.