Koenig H G, Cohen H J, George L K, Hays J C, Larson D B, Blazer D G
Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, USA.
Int J Psychiatry Med. 1997;27(3):233-50. doi: 10.2190/40NF-Q9Y2-0GG7-4WH6.
First, to examine and explain the relationship between religious service attendance and plasma Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and second, to examine the relationship between religious attendance and other immune-system regulators and inflammatory substances.
During the third in-person interview (1992) of the Establishment of Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) project, Duke site, 1718 subjects age sixty-five or over had blood drawn for analysis of immune regulators and inflammatory factors, including IL-6 measurements. IL-6 was examined both as a continuous variable and at a cutoff of 5 pg/ml. Information on attendance at religious services was available from the 1992 interview and two prior interviews (1986 and 1989).
Religious attendance was inversely related to high IL-6 levels (> 5 pg/ml), but not to IL-6 measured as a continuous variable. Bivariate analyses revealed that high religious attendance in 1989 predicted a lower proportion of subjects with high IL-6 in 1992 (beta-.10, p = .01) High religious attendance in 1992 also predicted a lower proportion of subjects with high IL-6 levels in 1992 (beta-.14, p = .0005). When age, sex, race, education, chronic illnesses, and physical functioning were controlled, 1989 religious attendance weakened as a predictor of high IL-6 (beta-.07, p = .10), but 1992 religious attendance retained its effect (beta-.10, p = .02). When religious attenders were compared to non- attenders, they were only about one-half as likely to have IL-6 levels greater than 5 ng/ml (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40-0.84, p < .005). Religious attendance was also related to lower levels of the immune-inflammatory markers alpha-2 globulin, fibrin d-dimers, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and lymphocytes. While controlling for covariates weakened most of these relationships, adjusting analyses for depression and negative life events had little effect.
There is a weak relationship between religious attendance and high IL-6 levels that could not be explained by other covariates, depression, or negative life events. This finding provides some support for the hypothesis that older adults who frequently attend religious services have healthier immune systems, although mechanism of effect remains unknown.
第一，研究并解释宗教活动参与度与血浆白细胞介素-6（IL-6）水平之间的关系；第二，研究宗教活动参与度与其他免疫系统调节因子和炎症物质之间的关系。
在老年流行病学研究人群建立项目（EPESE）杜克站点的第三次现场访谈（1992年）期间，1718名65岁及以上的受试者接受了血液抽取，以分析免疫调节因子和炎症因子，包括IL-6的测量。IL-6既作为连续变量进行检查，也在5 pg/ml的临界值进行检查。宗教活动参与情况的信息可从1992年的访谈以及之前的两次访谈（1986年和1989年）中获得。
宗教活动参与度与高IL-6水平（>5 pg/ml）呈负相关，但与作为连续变量测量的IL-6无关。双变量分析显示，1989年宗教活动参与度高预示着1992年IL-6水平高的受试者比例较低（β = -0.10，p = 0.01）。1992年宗教活动参与度高也预示着1992年IL-6水平高的受试者比例较低（β = -0.14，p = 0.0005）。当控制年龄、性别、种族、教育程度、慢性病和身体功能时，1989年宗教活动参与度作为高IL-6的预测因素的作用减弱（β = -0.07，p = 0.10），但1992年宗教活动参与度仍保持其作用（β = -0.10，p = 0.02）。当将宗教活动参与者与非参与者进行比较时，他们IL-6水平大于5 ng/ml的可能性仅为非参与者的约一半（OR = 0.58，95% CI = 0.40 - 0.84，p < 0.005）。宗教活动参与度还与免疫炎症标志物α-2球蛋白、纤维蛋白D-二聚体、多形核白细胞和淋巴细胞的较低水平相关。虽然控制协变量削弱了这些关系中的大多数，但对抑郁和负面生活事件进行调整分析的影响不大。
宗教活动参与度与高IL-6水平之间存在微弱关系，且无法用其他协变量、抑郁或负面生活事件来解释。这一发现为经常参加宗教活动的老年人具有更健康的免疫系统这一假设提供了一些支持，尽管作用机制尚不清楚。
