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SALT LAKE CITY — A new study from Canada found that attending church at least monthly may reduce the risk of depression.
The National Post reports the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan, tracked more than 12,000 Canadians over a period of 14 years.
It found that clinical depression was 22 percent lower among those who attended religious services at least once a month compared to people who never attended.
The study is published in the April issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
They concluded that worshipers benefit from an "unmeasurable" aspect of religious attendance.
The study found that people who say they are spiritual but do not attend religious services did not experience any health benefit.
"It might be something about the organized component of religion that is the healthful component," said study co-author Dr. Marilyn Baetz, professor and head of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan.
Canada.com reports the study's long-term data came from Statistics Canada's Canadian National Population Health Survey. Researchers looked exclusively at individuals 16 and older who weren't initially clinically depressed.
The study did not differentiate between different faiths, but researchers said about 80 percent of worshippers would have been from Christian denominations.
