The Association between Religious Participation and Executive Function in Middle- and Older-aged Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

ABSTRACT

We investigated the association between religious participation and executive function in a national sample of Canadian adults aged 45 to 85 years. Executive function scores were aggregated from six neurocognitive tests. We regressed the aggregate scores onto religious participation and controlled for numerous covariates. The analyses were stratified by age: 45 to 64 years and ≥ 65 years. In comparison to persons who reported never participating in religious activities, persons who reported daily-weekly participation had statistically significantly lower executive function scores; we observed this finding for both age groups. Associations for monthly-yearly religious participation versus never participating were also inverse yet not necessarily statistically significant at the 5% level. The strongest inverse associations were observed in models adjusted for social networks, social support, and social participation. Our findings mesh with recent research and suggest the need to carefully assess the role of religious participation when promoting executive function. Future research warrants employing longitudinal designs to further investigate the association.

Acknowledgments

This research was made possible using the data/biospecimens collected by the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Funding for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is provided by the Government of Canada through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) under grant reference LSA 9447 and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. This research has been conducted using the CLSA’s Baseline Comprehensive v4.0 dataset, under Application Number 160303. The CLSA is led by Drs. Parminder Raina, Christina Wolfson and Susan Kirkland. The views expressed in the manuscript are those of the authors and not the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Data availability statement

Data are available from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (www.clsa-elcv.ca) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to de-identified CLSA data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the University of Waterloo’s Office of Research Ethics (file # 30,748).