Church air
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Churchgoers can breathe easier. A study finds older churchgoers keep more breathing ability than do people who don't attend services. Joanna Maselko of Temple University: "Over an about four and a-half year follow-up period, elderly persons who regularly went to church – meaning at least once a week or more – their lung function declined at about half the rate of those who never attended religious services." (14 seconds) Maselko says the findings fit a pattern – churchgoers tend to be healthier than people who don't attend. And she says her study factored out things like the idea people with bad lungs couldn't attend church. She thinks churchgoers have more people to talk with, and to help them get care when they need it. Her work, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: February, 16 2007 | 
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