Abstract 17418: Religious Attendance and Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Older Women

Introduction: Although religious attendance can act as a protective health factor likely through social support and inherent beliefs, little is known about the relationship between the frequency of religious attendance and ideal cardiovascular health (ICH), particularly in older women, many of whom attend religious activities. Methods: We utilized the Women’s Health Study (WHS) follow-up psychosocial stress cohort (n=24360; mean age=71.8, SD= 5.8 years) to evaluate the cross-sectional relationship between current religious service attendance and ICH, as defined by the American Heart Association 2020 ICH score. Frequency of religious attendance was classified as never, at least once a year, at least once a month, and at least once a week. Results: Compared to women who never attend religious services, women who participate in religious services at least once a week are more likely to be hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic, less likely to be smokers or to use alcohol, less physically active, had lower education levels and more likely to earn < $50,000 annually/household. In age-adjusted models, religious service attendance at least once a month and once a week was associated with a 17% and 36 % higher odds of ICH, respectively. This relationship persisted in models that additionally adjusted for race/ethnicity, education, income, psychological status and social support for women who attended religious services at least once a week [Table]. Conclusion: Among women in the Women’s Health Study, compared to non-attenders women who attended religious services weekly displayed a 30% higher odds of ideal cardiovascular health, despite adjustment for social support and other risk factors. These data suggest that religious attendance may be beneficial to the cardiovascular health of older women via additional mechanisms beyond social support.