RELIGION AND CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE RISK

Objectives: To determine whether cardiovascular-disease risk-factor pr ofiles of majority-church members differ from those of non-church memb ers we examined a large population-based random sample. Methods: Data from the two cross-sectional surveys of the Pawtucket Heart Health Pro gram conducted in 1981-82 (n=2442) and 1983-84 (n=2799) were evaluated . Trained interviewers collected physiological measures including heig ht, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a small blood s ample (for total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein). Smoking, e xercise, sociodemographics, and church membership were determined by s elf-report. Results: Church members were older, more likely to be fema le, Portuguese, married, have more people living in their households, and were also more likely to be greater than 20% overweight. Forty-eig ht percent of church members reported never having smoked cigarettes c ompared to 35.4% of non-church members. Differences in systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol were attributable to age, sex, and ethn icity. Conclusions: Aside from cigarette-smoking status and body-mass index, the risk profile of the two groups was not different, indicatin g that health-promotion interventions geared to the general population may not need to be tailored too extensively for members of religious organizations based on health status. On the other hand, the demograph ic differences and easy access to entire families may require more att ention.