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Background: In-person religious service attendance has been linked to favorable health and well-being outcomes. However, little research has examined whether online religious participation improves these outcomes, especially when in-person attendance is suspended., Methods: Using longitudinal data of 8951 UK adults, this study prospectively examined the association between frequency of online religious participation during the stringent lockdown in the UK (23 March -13 May 2020) and 21 indicators of psychological well-being, social well-being, pro-social/altruistic behaviors, psychological distress, and health behaviors. All analyses adjusted for baseline socio-demographic characteristics, pre-pandemic in-person religious service attendance, and prior values of the outcome variables whenever data were available. Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple testing., Results: Individuals with online religious participation of ≥1/week ( v. those with no participation at all) during the lockdown had a lower prevalence of thoughts of self-harm in week 20 (odds ratio 0.24; 95% CI 0.09-0.62). Online religious participation of <1/week ( v. no participation) was associated with higher life satisfaction (standardized β = 0.25; 0.11-0.39) and happiness (standardized β = 0.25; 0.08-0.42). However, there was little evidence for the associations between online religious participation and all other outcomes (e.g. depressive symptoms and anxiety)., Conclusions: There was evidence that online religious participation during the lockdown was associated with some subsequent health and well-being outcomes. Future studies should examine mechanisms underlying the inconsistent results for online v. in-person religious service attendance and also use data from non-pandemic situations.

Aim: To evaluate the association between sarcopenic obesity and the decline in estimated GFR in people with type 2 diabetes., Methods: We enrolled 745 people with type 2 diabetes (mean age 64.6 years, 53.6% men). Body composition was evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Skeletal muscle index, calculated as appendicular non-fat mass (kg) divided by height squared (m 2 ), was used to determine sarcopenia. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as the coexistence of sarcopenia and a ratio of android to gynoid fat mass greater than the median values in each gender. The association of sarcopenic obesity both with the annual rate of decline in estimated GFR and a >30% decline in estimated GFR was evaluated using multivariate linear regression models and Cox proportional hazard models, respectively., Results: Participants with sarcopenic obesity were at an increased risk of a high annual rate of decline in estimated GFR, even after adjustment for the confounding variables (standardized β = -0.228, P <0.001). Sarcopenic obesity was also significantly associated with risk of a >30% decline in estimated GFR (hazard ratio 4.52, 95% CI 2.16-9.47; P < 0.01) in multivariate model., Conclusions: Sarcopenic obesity evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is associated with a faster decline in renal function in people with type 2 diabetes., (© 2019 Diabetes UK.)