Associations Between Breast Cancer Risk Factors and Religiousness in American Women in a National Health Survey

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.

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.