Elevate – Study shows Black people who prayer are healthier

PRAYER: A MATTER OF THE HEART

A NEW STUDY SHOWS BLACK AMERICANS WHO PRAY HAVE HEALTHIER HEARTS. BY D. SHENELL REED Christmas. ‘Tis the season when more believers flock to church and pray for miracles. But a new study shows the practices of prayer and church going should span beyond the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic discovered that Black Americans who have a steady pattern of spiritual and religious activities are more likely to have healthier hearts. The “Journal of the American Heart Association” published the results in August 2022.

With analyzed data from nearly 3,000 participants, the study found that those who claim to have regular religious or spiritual habits were more likely to score higher on the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 metric. Life’s Simple 7 shows a quick view of someone’s overall heart health using determinants like blood pressure, cholesterol level, body mass index, cigarette smoking, diet, exercise, and fasting plasma glucose, which measures blood sugar and can help diagnose diabetes.

The metric showed that Black Americans who participate in church and like activities had “intermediate or ideal” levels of heart health. The “religious” scale researchers used considers the frequency of church atten-

dance and private prayer, along with religious coping or reliance on such practices to adjust to tough life issues. “The cause of the association between religiosity, spirituality and heart health among Black Americans could lie in access and exposure to education about physical wellness,” said LaPrincess Brewer, M.D., a preventative cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic and first author on the study. “Attending religious services may expose individuals LaPrincess Brewer, M.D. to more health and wellness-related information through sermons and Bible studies, which ultimately encourage people to increase practices such as exercising regularly or maintaining a healthy diet,” Brewer said.

For consistency, researchers used the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale to assess how often participants said they felt God’s presence, desired a closer relation with God, and felt God’s love. They also measured nontheistic encounters like “feeling strength in one’s religion, feeling deep inner peace and harmony, and feeling spirituality touched by creation.”

Specifically, researchers associated increased church attendance with more physical activity; and associated private prayer with a more satisfactory diet and less smoking. They associated total spirituality with more physical activity and less smoking.

The study reported that churches were important as social communities and that church attendance could also be associated with reduced exposure to harmful substances that increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.

“Social support and optimistic outlook may also encourage individuals to practice healthy behaviors,” Brewer added. “Some individuals may be more likely to practice healthy behaviors, such as refraining from alcohol or tobacco use, due to their religious beliefs.”

A similar study served as background research for the Mayo Clinic report Brewer and other researchers conducted. In the late 1990s, the “Jackson Heart Study” in Jackson, Miss., provided community-based responses to examine the risk of cardiovascular disease in Black adults in Jackson. More than 5,300 men and women participated to help investigators uncover the environmental and genetic factors surrounding Black Americans’ disproportionate rates of heart disease.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), Black Americans are 30% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than the general population in the United States. Heart disease impacts about half of all Black adults during their lifetimes.

In 2017, the “Journal of the American Heart Association” published that hypertension—or blood pressure above 130/80 mmHg—is likely the greatest risk factor for cardiovascular disease among Black Americans, as well as the most easily targeted area for disease prevention through treatment and management of the condition. Rates of undiagnosed hypertension among Black men and women in the U.S. are among the highest in the world and the disparity begins in youth.

AHA reports Black boys and girls are more likely to have high blood pressure than their white peers. Ultimately, disproportionate rates of hypertension have major implications for mortality in the Black community.

Brewer says she believes the results of the new study could better equip clinicians to address racial disparities in heart health in a health care setting.

“Providers should consider religiosity and spirituality as an important sociocultural influence on cardiovascular health in this particular population,” she said. “Health disparities researchers may also apply this data as they develop culturally relevant lifestyle interventions.”

Brewer also admonishes churches to use their influence as cornerstones of many Black communities to promote healthier habits among members.

“African American churches can use this information as well to develop health and wellness programs and encourage healthy lifestyle practices in their ministries,” she said.

To improve heart health, the American Heart Association recommends people follow Life’s Simple 7. The steps include eating a healthy diet, getting physical activity, losing excess weight, managing blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, lowering blood sugar, and refraining from smoking.