Effects of Participating in Religious Groups on Mental Health Issues : A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

We conducted a Mendelian randomization study to evaluate the potential causal effects of attending religious groups on the prevalence of depression, generalized anxiety disorders, anxiety disorders, and suicide and self-harm. Data from the UK Biobank and the FinnGen project were processed by inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, and MR-Egger regression methods. Despite certain pleiotropic risks, we found that attending religious groups was potentially associated with a reduced risk of anxiety disorders (OR = 0.213, p = .028). The pleiotropies were largely controlled and the effect on anxiety disorders became more significant in our sensitivity analysis (OR = 0.162; p = .006). Additionally, attending religious groups was associated with a reduced risk of suicide and self-harm (OR = 0.231, p = .0006). However, we did not observe any substantial protection against depression. In conclusion, our study adds to the existing literature and sheds light on the potential health benefits of religious activities from a novel perspective.