Frequent religious attendance leads to a significantly lower rate of suicide, a recent Harvard study has revealed.
Over 89,000 women aged 30 to 55 participated in the U.S. based study, which found a fivefold increase in the suicide rate for those who had never attended a religious service compared to those who attended at least once a week.
Among denominations, Protestant women were seven times more likely to commit suicide than those who identified as Catholic.
The authors of the study also noted that the findings did not imply that health care providers should prescribe church attendance to patients, but said the "underappreciated resource" could be encouraged as a form of meaningful social participation.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. with estimates that females attempt suicide 3 times as often as males.