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Annals of Behavioral Medicine
Published in: Annals of Behavioral Medicine 3/2009

01-06-2009 | Original Article

Daily Spiritual Experiences, Systolic Blood Pressure, and Hypertension among Midlife Women in SWAN

Authors: George Fitchett, Ph.D., Lynda H. Powell, Ph.D.

Published in: Annals of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 3/2009

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Abstract

Background

There is reasonable evidence that religious beliefs and activities are associated with lower blood pressure and less hypertension. It is not known if daily spiritual experiences have similar effects.

Purpose

We examined the relationship between an eight-item version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension.

Methods

With data from 1,060 Caucasian and 598 African-American midlife women participating in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, in race-stratified models, we used regression equations, logistic regression, and mixed effects regression to estimate the relationship between DSES group and SBP and hypertensive status.

Results

We found little difference across DSES groups in adjusted mean SBP for either Caucasian or African-American women. Nor did DSES protect against 3-year increases in SBP, hypertensive status, or incident hypertension.

Conclusions

Daily spiritual experiences do not appear protective for SBP or hypertension in midlife women. Further research should examine factors that condition the religion–BP relationship.
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Metadata
Title
Daily Spiritual Experiences, Systolic Blood Pressure, and Hypertension among Midlife Women in SWAN
Authors
George Fitchett, Ph.D.
Lynda H. Powell, Ph.D.
Publication date
01-06-2009
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Annals of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 3/2009
Print ISSN: 0883-6612
Electronic ISSN: 1532-4796
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9110-y

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