Exploring the association between religious participation and memory in middle- and older-aged adults in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

To investigate the association between religious participation and memory in persons aged 45-85 years. Using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, frequency of religious participation was measured from "daily" to "never"; immediate and delayed recall memory were assessed with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. We regressed memory onto religious participation for persons aged < 65 years and persons aged >= 65 years. We found some evidence of effect modification: among persons < 65 years, monthly to yearly participation versus never attending was positively associated with immediate and delayed recall memory; among persons aged >= 65 years, weekly or more participation versus never attending was negatively associated with immediate and delayed recall memory. However, regression coefficients were small (-0.09 <= B <= 0.06) and most were not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Insufficient evidence existed to conclude that religious participation was associated with memory in our sample.