Jews concerned about their heart health may want to start praying: A new study found that Haredi Israeli men were less likely to die of coronary heart disease than their agnostic compatriots. Photo by iStock/Kubra Cavo
By Adam Kovac
November 30, 2022
A recent study may hold a clue for Jews looking to reduce their chances of dying from coronary heart disease: start praying.
The study looked at the death rates of nearly 12,000 Israeli Jewish men who the scientists divided into five categories of religious observance: Haredim, religious, traditional, secular and agnostic. It was based on a survey that followed these men, between the ages of 40 and 65, for more than three decades.
the resultspublished in the international journal of environmental research and public health, indicated that the level of religious observance among men was significantly correlated with levels of mortality from heart disease. Men in the haredi group were 32% less likely to die from heart disease than those in the agnostic group, while religious, traditional and secular groups were 18%, 15% and 8% more likely to die from heart disease, respectively. .
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, accounting for about 1 in 5 deaths. In 2020, just under 700,000 Americans died from complications of the disease.
Although study data was not collected after 1995, co-author Sigal Eilat-Adar, a registered nutritionist and an epidemiologist at the Israel Academic College at Wingate, said other studies indicate that the results would be similar with more recent data.
While the findings are consistent with previous studies linking higher religious observance among other religious groups with better heart health, the fact that Israeli Haredim are generally worse off economically than other religious groups made the findings challenging. much clearer. Socioeconomic status has been widely shown to have a strong connection to overall health.
Eilat-Adar also noted that the Haredim also tended to have a worse diet than the other groups, especially at the time of the study, when many enjoyed meals full of saturated fat.
“They eat a lot. There are Holy Days and Shabbat,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a healthy diet, because they drink a lot of sugary drinks.”
A Haredi edge?
In the study, Eilat-Adar pointed to several factors that could explain the lower death rate, including that Haredim are likely to smoke less due to Shabbat restrictions and have strong community ties and support. While the study notes that research has shown that religiosity has been linked to lower levels of stress, Eilat-Adar told Forward that might be even more apparent in Israel, where Haredim don’t have the stress that comes with compulsory military service.
Zachary Zimmer, a professor at Mount Saint Vincent University who has written widely on the relationship between religion and health, said the habits highlighted in the study have been seen in other religious communities, where they have also been found to help reduce mortality from heart disease. .
“There is a spiritual aspect, there is a religious identity aspect, there is kind of a cultural and community aspect, there is a behavioral aspect,” he said.
But, he added, the findings are not universal.
“If you go around the world to other places, in other countries, you don’t necessarily find the same relationship” because religion and culture introduce other factors that can influence heart health. “It may be that religiosity is not as healthy as it is in certain communities and in certain countries.”
A host of factors can lead more observant people to healthier hearts, but the actual mechanisms connecting cause and effect are still poorly understood, said Ananya Banerjee, an assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal who studies the Social Determinants of Health.
“There are aspects of religion that can be abstract and difficult to measure,” he said. “I think that’s why there’s not a big research program or institution that’s really looking at how protective religion and being religious is in chronic disease and mental health conditions.”
(For Jews specifically, part of the answer to reducing the risk of dying from heart disease may be unexpected: a study 2018 discovered that wearing tefillin had a positive effect on blood flow).
Warnings
Eilat-Adar acknowledged the limitations of the study. Chief among them is that the data came from a survey of employed Israelis, and therefore could not account for the sizable population of Haredim who are engaged in full-time Torah study.
As for whether secular Jews can benefit from becoming more observant, Zimmer said the health benefits of the beliefs are clear, but not limited to organized religion. She noted that similar positive results have been seen in people who are dedicated to non-denominational spirituality or a musical instrument or a cause.
Eilat-Adar said that a bond with something bigger than oneself can only be beneficial.
“Believing in something really helps you. You don’t have to pray. You can pray in your heart, I don’t know,” she said. “But believing in something is not attendance at prayer. It is spirituality that helps you”.
Asked if some kind of divine intervention may be at play, for example that Jews who prayed for good health received it because of their devotion, Zimmer said the question is beyond the scope of scientific investigation.
“I think divine intervention and science often don’t mix so well,” he said.
Source: news.google.com