Abstract
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in American women. Data are lacking from representative samples of total populations on the association of risk factors for breast cancer and religiousness. The sixth cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG VI) included 3,766 women aged 30–44 years with complete data on self-reported religiousness, and selected breast cancer risk factors. Of women in the analysis, 1,008 reported having four or more breast cancer risk factors. Women who never attended services were over seven times more likely to report having four or more risk factors than those who attended more than weekly (P < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, nativity, education and marital status by logistic regression, women who never attended services were still over six times more likely to report having four or more risk factors (P < 0.0001). The combination of frequent attendance at religious services, very high importance of religion in daily life, and self-identification as a Protestant evangelical was particularly protective. Multiple dimensions of religiousness are independently associated with multiple breast cancer risk factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allport, G. W. (1951). The individual and his religion, a psychological interpretation. London: Constable.
American Piety in the 21st Century: New Insights to the Depth and Complexity of Religion in the US. Selected Findings from The Baylor Religion Survey. (2006). Waco, Texas: Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, Department of Sociology, Baylor University.
Berkman, L. F., Glass, T., Brissette, I., & Seeman, T. E. (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science and Medicine, 51(6), 843–857. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00065-4.
Bernstein, L., Teal, C. R., Joslyn, S., & Wilson, J. (2003). Ethnicity-related variation in breast cancer risk factors. Cancer, 97(1 Suppl), 222–229. doi:10.1002/cncr.11014.
Breast Cancer Facts and Figs 2007–2008. (2007). Atlanta, Georgia: American Cancer Society.
Chandra, A., Martinez, G. M., Mosher, W. D., Abma, J. C., & Jones, J. (2005). Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 23(25), 1–160.
Christiano, K. J., Swatos, W. H., Jr., & Kivisto, P. (2002). Sociology of religion: Contemporary developments. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.
Daniels, M., Merrill, R. M., Lyon, J. L., Stanford, J. B., & White, G. L., Jr. (2004). Associations between breast cancer risk factors and religious practices in Utah. Preventive Medicine, 38(1), 28–38. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.09.025.
Gillum, R. F. (2005a). Frequency of attendance at religious services and cigarette smoking in American women and men: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Preventive Medicine, 41(2), 607–613. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.12.006.
Gillum, R. F. (2005b). Religiosity and the validity of self-reported smoking: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Review of Religious Research, 47(2), 190–196. doi:10.2307/3512050.
Glass, T. A., & McAtee, M. J. (2006). Behavioral science at the crossroads in public health: Extending horizons, envisioning the future. Social Science and Medicine, 62(7), 1650–1671. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.08.044.
Groves, R. M., Benson, G., Mosher, W. D., Rosenbaum, J., Granda, P., Axinn, W., et al. (2005). Plan and operation of Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 1(42), 1–86.
Health, United States, 2005. (2005). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality. Demography, 36(2), 273–285. doi:10.2307/2648114.
Research Triangle Institute (2004). SUDAAN Example Manual, Release 9.0 Research Triangle Park, NC.
Koenig, H. G., Lawson, D. M., & McConnell, M. P. (2004). Faith in the future: Healthcare, aging and the role of religion. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kufe, D. W., Holland, J. F., Frei, E., & American Cancer Society (2003). Cancer medicine 6 (6th ed.). Hamilton, Ontario; Lewiston, NY [distributor]: BC Decker.
Lopez, A. D., Mathers, C. D., Ezzati, M., Jamison, D. T., & Murray, C. J. L. (Eds.). (2006). Global burden of disease and risk factors. Washington, DC: The World Bank and Oxford University Press.
Mosher, W. D., & Goldscheider, C. (1984). Contraceptive patterns of religious and racial groups in the United States, 1955–76: Convergence and distinctiveness. Studies in Family Planning, 15(3), 101–111. doi:10.2307/1965460.
Mosher, W. D., Williams, L. B., & Johnson, D. P. (1992). Religion and fertility in the United States: New patterns. Demography, 29(2), 199–214. doi:10.2307/2061727.
Padez, C. (2003). Social background and age at menarche in Portuguese university students: A note on the secular changes in Portugal. American Journal of Human Biology, 15(3), 415–427. doi:10.1002/ajhb.10159.
Rindfuss, R. R., & Craig, S. J. (1983). Social determinants of age at first birth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45(3), 553–565. doi:10.2307/351660.
Roof, W. C. (1999). Spiritual marketplace: Baby boomers and the remaking of American religion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Tyrer, L. (1999). Introduction of the pill and its impact. Contraception, 59(1 Suppl), 11S–16S. doi:10.1016/S0010-7824(98)00131-0.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix I
NSFG Cycle VI Questions on Religion
Now I have a few questions about religion.
Please look at Card 77 (78 if Protestant). In what religion were you raised, if any?
[If < 25 years] Please look at Card 79. When you were 14, about how often did you usually attend religious services?
Please look at Card 77. What religion are you now, if any?
About how often do you attend religious services?
-
More than once a week
-
Once a week
-
1–3 times per month
-
Less than once a month
-
Never
Please look at Card 80. Which of these do you consider yourself to be, if any?
-
A born again Christian
-
A charismatic
-
An evangelical
-
A fundamentalist
-
None of the above
Currently, how important is religion in your daily life? Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, or not important?
Card 77
-
None
-
Catholic
-
Jewish
-
Southern Baptist
-
Methodist, African Methodist
-
Lutheran
-
Presbyterian
-
Episcopal
-
LDS/Mormon
-
Other
Appendix II
Group I (Extrinsics, 11%) consists of persons attending religious services at least monthly, but for whom religion was not “very important.” This group could be similar to Allport extrinsically religious (Allport 1951).
Group II (Born Again, 18%) consists of persons attending services at least monthly for whom religion is very important in daily life and consider themselves “born-again Christians, presumably similar to Roof’s “Born-Again Christians” and including Alport’s intrinsically religious (Allport 1951; Roof 1999).
Group III (Mainstream, 22%) consists of persons similar except for not being “born-again Christians.” This group may be similar to Roof’s “Mainstream Believers” and likewise intrinsically religious.
Group IV (Private Believers, 11%) attend services less than monthly yet say that religion is very important. These may represent privatistic believers, possibly users of religious media.
Group V (Seekers and Seculars, 39%) attends services less than monthly and say religion is not very important or have no religious affiliation. These may include Roof’s “Secularists.” It is unclear whether his “Spiritual Seekers” (i.e., spiritual but not religious) fall mostly in Group IV or V (Roof 1999).
Using this typology, we classified the 7,620 of 7,643 women who had complete data on current religious affiliation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gillum, F., Williams, C. Associations Between Breast Cancer Risk Factors and Religiousness in American Women in a National Health Survey. J Relig Health 48, 178–188 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9187-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9187-9