Going to church could save your life: Women who worship once a week are '25 per cent less likely to die early'



"Going to church is not only good for the soul, it can also stop you dying young, a study claims. A weekly worship can slash your chances of dying early by a quarter if you are female. Attending just once a week was associated with a lower risk of death for women from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, the study which spanned over 20 years found.

Researchers believe optimism and a sense of community can combat the effects of stress and depression, resulting in longer life.

  Dr Tyler VanderWeele, a professor of epidemiology of Harvard's school of public health, examined attendance at religious services and subsequent death in women. It was assessed using questionnaires from between 1992 and 2012. Researchers used data from the Nurses' Health Study in the analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine."

Women who attended religious services more than once per week had a 33 per cent lower risk of death compared with women who never attended religious services"

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