E-mail from Allen Wyatt called my attention to a new Google service, Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/), which compiles information from academic publications. I searched the term “Mormons” and found a number of interesting articles about health among the Mormons. Here are a couple you may already have heard about:
- “Health practices and cancer mortality among active California Mormons” by J.E. Enstrom, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 1989 Dec 6; 81(23):1807-14.
- “Cancer incidence among Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah (United States) 1971-85.” by J.L. Lyon et al., Cancer Causes Control. 1994 Mar; 5(2):149-56.
- “Cancer incidence in Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah, 1966-1970,” New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 294, No. 3: 129-133 (Jan. 15, 1976).
- Cardiovascular mortality in Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah, 1969–1971, J.L. Lyons et al., American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 108, No. 5: 357-366 (1978).
I find it interesting that decreased smoking alone does not seem to account for the lower cancer rates among Mormons. Perhaps there is even more benefit to the Word of Wisdom than some people have appreciated.
