Preventing Cancer and Limiting Cancer Spread

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Koenig, H.G., George, L.K., Cohen, H.J., Hays, J.C., Blazer, D.G., Larson, D.B. (1998).  the relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in older adults.  Journal of Gerontology (medical sciences), in press (November).  Cigarette smoking and religious activities were assessed in a probability sample of 3,968 persons age 65 years or older participating in the Duke EPESE survey.  Data were available for Waves I-III of the survey (1986, 1989, and 1992).  Analyses were controlled for age, race, sex, education, alcohol use, physical health, and in the longitudinal analyses, smoking status at prior waves.  Participants who frequently attended religious services were significantly less likely to smoke cigarettes at all three waves.  Likewise, elders frequently involved in private prayer and meditation were less likely to smoke (Waves II and III).  Total number of pack-years smoked was also inversely related to frequency of attendance at religious services and private prayer/meditation.  Retrospective and prospective analyses revealed that religiously active persons were less likely to ever start smoking, not more likely to quit smoking.  Those who both attended religious services at least once/week and prayed/meditated at least daily were almost 90% more likely not to smoke than persons less involved in these religious activities.  The likely impact of religious beliefs and activities like prayer on smoking related diseases like lung cancer and chronic lung disease is considerable.

Spiegel, D., Bloom, J.R., Kraemer, H.C., & Gottheil, E. (1989).  Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer.  The Lancet, 2(8668), 888-891.  This clinical trial examined the effects of a psychosocial intervention on survival among 86 women with metastatic breast cancer.  The 1-year intervention consisted of weekly supportive group therapy with self-hypnosis and relaxation for pain.  At 10-year follow-up, only 3 patients were alive and death records obtained for the other 83 deceased patients.  Among those receiving the intervention, average survival was 36.6 months compared to 18.9 months in the control group (p<.0001, Cox model).  Interestingly, differences in survival began 8 months after the intervention ended.

Dwyer, J.W., Clarke, L.L., & Miller, M.K. (1990).  The effect of religious concentration and affiliation on county cancer mortality rates.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 185-202.  These investigators used county-level cancer mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics (3,063 counties) for 1968-1970, 1971-1974 and 1975-1980 to examine the relationship between religious affiliation and death from cancer.  Investigators found that religion (defined as % of population with full membership or as degree of religious conservativeness) had a significant impact on mortality rates from cancer, even after controlling for 15 factors known to affect mortality rates from the lowest mortality rates and counties with highest concentrations of Jews or liberal Protestants had the highest cancer mortality. Investigators concluded that the general population in areas with high concentrations of religious participants may experience health benefits resulting from diminished exposure to or increased social disapproval of behaviors related to cancer mortality.

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