Dec. 14, 2001 (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Reviewing past research on the correlation between religion and medicine, a recent study found a strong, direct association between religious involvement/spirituality and better health outcomes.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed 350 studies of physical health and 850 on mental health that have used religious or spiritual variables. The studies focused on the effects of religious involvement, or collective spiritual experiences, and of spirituality, which is a quest for meaning and purpose. Research found the majority of these studies showed religious involvement was associated with the following:
Longer lives
Less cardiovascular disease
Lower blood pressure and less hypertension
Greater sense of well-being and less death anxiety
Lower risk of depression and quicker recovery from it
Less anxiety
Alcohol or other substance abuse
Less suicidal ideation
Not only did researchers find a correlation between religion and health, but they also observed patients with spirituality coped with illness more effectively. An inverse relationship was detected between religious coping and physical illness leading to disability; the greater the religious coping, the greater the level of physical illness necessary to lead to a given degree of disability. Lastly, they found spiritual coping helps protect the elderly from the negative effects of stressful life events such as death of a spouse or divorce. Researchers speculate this direct association may be attributable to the positive emotions that accompany religion and spirituality. They liken the effect of these positive thoughts to the proven effects of a placebo. However, researchers warn the effects of religion and spirituality may not be limited to positive results. They say religious beliefs may encourage avoidance of traditional treatments or high expectations for recovery that lead to isolation, stress and anxiety.