Elderly's Religious Outlook Enhances View of Their Health

How do the elderly living in run-down neighborhoods try to cope in order to keep their health from running down hill, too? A recent study funded by the National Institute on Aging found that the elderly in poor neighborhoods who rely on their religious faith to cope rate their health more highly, despite declining in ability to perform daily tasks.

"The noxious impact of living in a dilapidated neighborhood on changes in self-reported health over time is offset completely for older adults who rely heavily on religious coping strategies," noted researcher Dr. Neal Krause of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Religion may "help people deal more effectively with the physical problems they encounter," he stated.

Living in poverty areas raises risks of earlier death even more than lower income, education, or other personal measures of socioeconomic status, several other studies have found, noted Dr. Krause. Elderly in deteriorating neighborhoods report more physical health problems than elderly in better areas, even after considering financial problems.

This study interviewed a random national sample of more than 500 elderly persons twice over four years to track changes in health. About 13 percent lived in deteriorating neighborhoods. The elderly were asked to rate their overall health and how satisfied they were with it. They also responded to 14 questions on how well they performed daily activities such as climbing stairs, lifting, dressing, and bathing. How they rated their health was compared to their actual ability to perform tasks.

Religious coping questions inquired to what degree the person derived much personal strength or support from God, whether prayer helped them cope with difficulties and stress, and whether the person felt that when making important decisions it is important to seek God's guidance.

Overall, older adults who lived in deteriorating neighborhoods did show a greater decline in how they rated their health compared to those in better areas. The researchers expected this due to sanitation and building hazards, and potential psychological distress.

Yet those in run-down neighborhoods who turned to their religion to help cope showed substantially less decline in self-rated health. "Dilapidated living conditions fail to exert a significant effect on changes in self-perceived health for elders with the highest observed religious coping score," Dr. Krause reported.

Why? Religious coping may foster a sense of self-worth, not based on economic resources, he stated. Also, "merely feeling the presence of God and believing that one is not alone during adverse times may have a beneficial effect," he added.

But despite rating their health more highly, the elderly who relied on religious coping still declined more in ability to perform daily living activities if they lived in a run-down area. This "indicates that instead of helping elders avoid health problems altogether, religious coping may be more likely to affect how elders perceive and deal with health limitations," Dr. Krause noted.

"This study shows the significant impact of religious coping in the elderly," noted Dr. David Larson, president of the National Institute for Healthcare Research.

"The findings contribute to the recent surge of interest in the relationship between religion and health," Dr. Krause concluded. "We need to know more about when and how religion might benefit the health of older adults."

Reference: Krause, Neal. "Neighborhood Deterioration, Religious Coping, and Changes in Health During Late Life," The Gerontologist 1998; 38(6): 653-664.