Comparative longevity in a college cohort of Christian Scientists.

The cumulative death rate of Christian Scientists who received an undergraduate college education at Principia College in Elsah, III, a liberal arts college for Christian Scientists, was compared with that of a control population that received an undergraduate college education in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. In this study, the cumulative death rate is expressed as the percentage of the graduating class known to have died as of June 1987. The study included the graduating classes from 1934 to 1983. The graduates from Principia College had a significantly higher death rate than the control population.