Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
8
pubmed:dateCreated
1995-5-9
pubmed:abstractText
Although it is generally believed that a simple lifestyle may promote health, a recent study among Trappist and Benedictine monks in the Netherlands reported an increase in general morbidity (Am J Epidemiol 1993;138:569-73). As this increased morbidity might be the consequence of an increased life expectancy, we studied the level of mortality among these contemplative monks. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and death rates were calculated from 1,523 monks whose data were abstracted from the monastery rolls of the period 1900-1994. For this period the SMR was 0.88 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81-0.95). A lower SMR was present in almost all of the age categories and in all except one of the monasteries. There were two distinct subperiods. In the pre-World War II era, the SMR was 1.25 (95% CI 1.04-1.49), but it lowered to 0.76 (95% CI 0.69-0.85) after World War II. From 1950 on, mortality in the monasteries remained lower than in the general population, even after correction for the generally higher educational level of the monks. The death rates showed a continuing decline from 1900 to 1950. After 1950, the mortality among monks declined further at a time when the secular trend of decreasing mortality leveled off in the general male population. The higher mortality before World War II was largely unexplained. From the 1950s onward, the mortality among monks was lower, presumably because of the epidemic of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease in the general population. Taken together, the present and earlier data suggest that, among contemplative monks, a simple lifestyle is associated with an extension of life in which they suffer from nonfatal morbidity.
pubmed:keyword
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Behavior, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Demographic Factors, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Developed Countries, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Differential Mortality, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Diseases, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Europe, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/LIFE EXPECTANCY, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Length Of Life, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Life Style, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/MORBIDITY, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Mortality, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/NETHERLANDS, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Population, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Population Dynamics, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/keyword/Western Europe
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
0002-9262
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
141
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
771-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1995
pubmed:articleTitle
Decreased mortality among contemplative monks in The Netherlands.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Hospital, The Netherlands.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article