UCLA followed more than 9,800 LDS members in California from 1980 to 2004 — a 24-year longitudinal study. The researchers compared life expectancy for active LDS members against U.S. averages.
LDS men had a life expectancy of 84.1 years, compared to 74.3 for U.S. white males — a gap of 9.8 years. LDS women: 86.1 years vs. 80.5 for U.S. white females — a gap of 5.6 years.
The researchers described this cohort as having "the lowest total death rates and longest life expectancies ever documented in a well-defined U.S. cohort."
The only comparable group in longevity research is Seventh-Day Adventists, who show similar ~10-year gains. Both groups share lifestyle factors — low substance use, strong community ties, regular worship attendance — that appear to compound into significant mortality differences.
Additional health findings: active LDS members show 24% lower cancer rates overall, 60% lower smoking-associated cancer in women, and 40% lower early mortality in men.
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