Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
Examining Links between the LDS Faith and Cervical Cancer Mortality Rates of the American West
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Geography
Abstract
Several medical geography studies have identified Utah as an outlier in terms of various illnesses with far lower rates than other states in the country. Gooaverts (2009) noticed small clusters of low cervical cancer rates in Utah compared to other states, although he wasn’t specifically studying the heavy LDS influence on Utah’s population. Lower cervical cancer rates in Utah could be attributed to the LDS “Law of Chastity”, which discourages sexual relationships outside of marriage as up to 99% of cases of cervical cancer have been linked to the human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted disease (http://www.cancerrecovery.org.uk/cervical-cancer). A goal of this research is to show that the LDS “Law of Chastity” is an important principle that has significant health benefits through its adherence, and that avoiding behavior like sexual relationships outside of marriage will be beneficial to an individual’s health, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Recommended Citation
Parker, Austin and Kerry, Dr. Ruth
(2013)
"Examining Links between the LDS Faith and Cervical Cancer Mortality Rates of the American West,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 268.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/268