HYPERTENSION DIGEST

Religion and spirituality linked with lower blood pressure in African Americans

We may have all thought it, but research has now shown that being involved in religious activities lowers blood pressure. Interestingly, this was found in persons who were diagnosed with hypertension, or high blood pressure, who were overweight, and were not always taking their blood pressure medication as directed by their physician.

The Jackson Heart Study is being conducted in the United States and is the largest study exclusively of African Americans. One component of this long-term study evaluated the effect of religion and spirituality on blood pressure, and the results were presented in May 2007 at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

The study author Sharon Wyatt, RN, PhD, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi said that “Our findings show that the integration of religion and spirituality – attending church and praying – may buffer individuals exposed to stress and delay the deleterious effects of hypertension.  These practices can be useful for individuals to incorporate into their daily lives. ”

The Jackson Heart Study followed 5,302 participants to evaluate the effects of religion and spirituality on both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.  Religion and spirituality were assessed with several questionnaires that examined:

• organized religious activities (church attendance, watching religious television).
• Non-organized religious activities (private prayer, meditation).
• Religious coping  (integration of religious beliefs into decision-making during times of stress.
• Daily spiritual experiences (interaction with God).

The religion items were self-administered; other questionnaires were interviewer administered with some collected during the initial interview in the participant’s home (personal and family health history, socioeconomic status, smoking, physical activity, and health care access). 
Associated with more religious activities were:

• Female gender
• Lower socioeconomic status
• Increasing age
• Lower levels of cortisol
• Higher levels of body mass index
• Lower levels of medication adherence. 

Previous literature involving religion and spirituality has noted a protective, or buffering, effect on health outcomes. These findings from the Jackson Heart Study are considered to support the protective, or buffering, effect of religion and spirituality on blood pressure.