Religious Affiliation and Major Depression
Keith G. Meador M.D., M.P.H.1,
Harold G. Koenig M.D., M.Sc.2,
Dana C. Hughes Ph.D.2,
Dan G. Blazer M.D., Ph.D.2,
Linda K. George Ph.D.2, and
Joanne Turnbull Ph.D.3
1 Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
2 Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina
3 Western Psychiatric Institute; Clinic in Pittsburgh
Data from the Duke Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey were used to examine the relationship between religious affiliation and major depression among 2,850 adults in the community. Religious affiliations were categorized into six groups: mainline Protestant (27 percent), conservative Protestant (59 percent), Pentecostal (4.2 percent), Catholic (2.4 percent), other religions (2.6 percent), and no affiliation (4.4 percent). The six-month prevalence of major depression among Pentacostals was 5.4 percent, compared with 1.7 percent for the entire sample. Even after psychosocial factors such as gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, negative life events, and social support were controlled for, the likelihood of major depression among Pentecostals was three times greater than among persons with other affiliations. Carefully designed studies are needed to Understand the complex interactions of religion and mental health.
Note:
This work was funded by the Epidemiologic Catchment Area project (grants MH35386 and MH43756), the Clinical Research Center for the Study of Depression in the Elderly (National Institute of Mental Health grant MH40159), and the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
