Differences in Mortality Rates between Haredi and Non‐Haredi Jews in Israel in the Context of Social Characteristics

Abstract

Research indicates that mortality rates are lower among the religious. Israeli ultra‐orthodox Jews, called Haredim, have characteristics distinguishing them from the rest of the Jewish population in Israel. These include lower socioeconomic status, higher fertility rates and rates of young marriage, and isolation from the general population. Our retrospective cohort study aims to determine the difference in mortality rates between Haredi and non‐Haredi Jews in Israel. We collected data on sociodemographic variables, religious lifestyle, and all‐cause mortality for 1,230,636 Jewish Israelis (62,674 Haredim) between 1996 and 2016. Using Cox regression and adjusted Kaplan‐Meier curves, we constructed models to evaluate the relationship between identifying as Haredi and mortality. The mortality rate was significantly lower among the Haredi population compared to the non‐Haredi population (5.0 percent vs. 8.2 percent). After adjusting for sex, age, marital status, number of children, education, and socioeconomic status, we still found a higher mortality rate among non‐Haredim compared to Haredim (HR = 1.596; 99 percent CI = 1.519, 1.678). While causal mechanisms could not be analyzed in this study, a likely cause is increased social, psychological, and religious resources, highlighting the need to consider factors other than socioeconomic status when studying religious and other groups with other forms of capital.

COVID-19 Amongst the Ultra-Orthodox Population in Israel: An Inside Look into the Causes of the High Morbidity Rates

“…On certain topics, their lack of knowledge could be a result of taboos, mainly when the topic relates to “immodest organs” (Zalcberg 2009 ). For instance, ultra-Orthodox women are significantly less aware of breast cancer and early detection tests than are non-ultra-Orthodox women, which consequently results in lower rates of testing for ultra-Orthodox women (Pinchas‐Mizrachi et al 2020 ). Further, the rate of people who waive medical treatments in ultra-Orthodox society is higher than the rate amongst the majority society; this discrepancy is also due to income gaps between the two groups (Kasir et al 2017 ).…”

“…While the ultra-Orthodox population demonstrates a low level of health-promoting behaviors, its members are characterized with aspects known to be health-promoting, such as high social capital, religious rituals and practices, and a faith-based worldview (Chernichovsky and Sharony 2015 ). In addition, a recent study shows that the ultra-Orthodox have lower mortality than other Israelis despite lower socioeconomic status (Pinchas‐Mizrachi et al 2020 ). In light of this, questions regarding the circumstances that led to the high morbidity rates of COVID-19 among the ultra-Orthodox population and regarding the place of its health-promoting aspects in this context become more acute.…”

Religious Minorities’ Perceptions of Official COVID-19 Health Guidelines: The Case of Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel

“…Still, the general health level of the Haredi population is considered high relative to the general population (Chernichovsky & Sharony, 2015 ). In general, it has longer life expectancy than other Israelis (Pinchas-Mizrachi et al, 2020 ) thanks to aspects embedded in the religion known to promote health, such as religious rituals and practices, a faith-based worldview, and particularly high social capital (Chernichovsky & Sharony, 2015 ). Many studies refer specifically to elements of social capital embedded in the religious community that promote health behaviors and improve health among believers while emphasizing the role of clergy, religious institutions, religious affiliations, inter-communal welfare, and networking, and their importance in providing privileged access to resources (Milstein et al, 2020 ; Satariano, 2020 ; Shapiro & Sharony, 2018 ).…”

The Effects of Sociocultural Transitioning on Accessibility to Healthcare: The Case of Haredi Jews Who Leave Their Communities

“…This group is characterized by unhealthy behavior which includes low compliance with mammography screening (Pinchas-Mizrachi et al 2021a , 2021b ), higher obesity rates (Leiter et al 2020 ), and low usage of dental care services (Lazarus et al 2015 ). An additional consideration in the evaluation of health behavior among Haredi Jews should relate to the fact that previous studies have found that the Haredi community tends to shy away from self-exposure, or revealing one’s vulnerabilities (Band-Winterstein and Freund 2013 ).…”

“…Many earlier studies have indeed found better health outcomes among the Haredi community in comparison to the non-Haredi Jewish community. These outcomes may be explained by the social capital prevalent among the members of the community (Pinchas-Mizrachi et al 2021a , 2021b ).…”