Greek Christian Orthodox ecclesiastical lifestyle: Could it become a pattern of health-related behavior?

Background. Although past research has globally supported the salutary impact of religion on health and health-related behaviors, it has not extensively examined the impact of the Christian Orthodox Church's way of living on people's health and health-related behavior. Methods. Semistructured personal interviews were used to investigate a stratified sample of 20- to 65-yearold individuals in the greater Athens area. Constructs were compared to single items and indices, which varied across data sets. Results. Multiple-regression analysis specify that persons adopting the Christian Orthodox Church's lifestyle were more likely to behave in ways that enhance their health (e.g., relaxation, life satisfaction, healthful nutrition, personal hygiene, and physical activity), after controlling for a set of socio-demographic factors and their current health status. Conclusion. These results suggest that the Christian Orthodox Church's lifestyle constitutes a pattern of health-related behavior. (C) 2002 American Health Foundation and Elsevier Science (USA).