From a recent study: “More Americans Praying About Health, Study Says; No Correlation Found Between Prayer for Health and Lack of Health Insurance ScienceDaily, May 23, 2011)”:
While prayer about health issues increased across all groups, from 43 percent in 2002 to 49 percent in 2007, the data indicated that people with the highest incomes were 15 percent less likely to pray than those with the lowest incomes, and people who exercised regularly were 25 percent less likely to pray those who didn’t exercise. Women, African-Americans and the well-educated were most likely to pray about their health.“We’re seeing a wide variety of prayer use among people with good income and access to medical care,” Wachholtz said. “People are not exchanging health insurance for prayer.”
Oddly, no mention was made of the gradual aging of the population as a factor. Most people over 50 have at least one chronic disease or weakness that they could pray about, if so inclined.