Behavioral factors explaining the low risk for cervical carcinoma in Utah Mormon women.

We used data from a population-based case-control study conducted in Utah from 1984 to 1987 to determine whether the low incidence of cervical carcinoma in Mormon women can be explained by adherence to their religious teachings, which proscribe smoking and extramarital sexual relations. Mormon women had substantially lower risk for cervical carcinoma than non-Mormons [odds ratio (OR) = 0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.28-0.54]; this low risk was confined to those who attended church frequently. The protective effect disappeared after controlling for differences in age, sexual behavior, and smoking (OR = 1.22; 95% CI = 0.80-1.87).