Inquiries to the Editor of Questions and Answers in The Journal included a recent question:
Please let me know what the death rate is for Protestants in general compared to Christian Scientists.... I would like to know whether enough Christian Scientists fail to seek medical attention to make their life expectancy shorter than that in the general population.
Robert D. Grove, PhD, Director, Division of Vital Statistics, US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, supplied the information that to the best of his knowledge
... there are no statistics available showing death rates or life expectancy values for Protestants and Christian Scientists. Official mortality statistics in the United States are derived from death certificates which do not contain information on religious preference. However, the question posed is interesting, and perhaps someone should be encouraged to investigate the matter.
An underlying difficulty is that correct exploration must not be limited to the