Religion and spirituality linked with lower blood pressure in African Americans

The Jackson Heart Study, the largest exclusively African American study, showed that persons involved with or participating in religious activities had significantly lower blood pressure, compared to persons who were not involved. Notably, this was in spite of being classified as hypertensive, having a higher body mass index, or lower adherence to prescribed medication, according to a press release from the American Society of Hypertension from its 21st Annual Scientific Meeting.

“Cardiovascular health disparities among African Americans are widely recognized, and
hypertension is the most prominent risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease in African Americans,” said study author Sharon Wyatt, RN, PhD, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. “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:

• organised religious activities (church attendance, watching religious television).
• Non-organised 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).  Statistical analyses were conducted using measures of association and linear regression to examine the effects of each religious variable on blood pressure. Potential confounding and explanatory variables including selected demographic (age, gender, socioeconomic status), sociocultural (racism, social support), psychological (depression, stress), and physiological (cortisol) were included in the statistical models.       
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. 

Contrary to the original hypotheses, those with more religious activities and participation were more likely to be classified as hypertensive.  However, those with more religious activities had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure in an uncontrolled model, and significantly lower systolic blood pressure in a controlled model.  
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.