Effect of religion on hypertension in adult Buddhists and residents in China: A cross-sectional study

Correlation between religion and hypertension is worth investigating since they both influence many people. Compared to studies which quantify religion with indicators representing only restricted dimensions of religion, researches assessing religion as an integral is preferable while lacking. Moreover, religious behaviors have great potential to be generalized if they are proved to be mediator through which religion exerts effect. However, relevant evidence is limited. Therefore, this cross-sectional study recruited 1384 adult Tibetan Buddhists from two Buddhist institutes in the Sichuan Province of China, and enrolled 798 adult Tibetan residents from nearby villages/towns. Each participant received a questionnaire, physical examination, and blood biochemistry tests. Buddhist effect on hypertension was investigated. The effects of uniquely Buddhist behaviors on hypertension were analyzed. The hypertensive risk of the Tibetan Buddhists is significantly decreased by 38% than Tibetan residents. As a Buddhist behavior, vegetarian diet highly approximates to be protective for Tibetan hypertension. As another Buddhist behavior, longer Buddhist activity participation time is associated with decreased prevalence of hypertension as well as lower blood pressure (BP) by analyzing subgroup of 570 Buddhists. Therefore, the protective role of religion on hypertension is suggested, and the religious behaviors are mediators which may be applied to general population.