Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Spirituality Helps Older Adults Cope with Illness
Perhaps faith is outside the realm of science, but new research indicates older adults who are religious or spiritual tend to fare better when they're hospitalized with an illness.
U.S. researchers found that hospitalized adults aged 50 or older who belonged to an organized religion tended to have better health and were better able to perform day-to-day activities like getting around and doing household chores.
Daily functioning was also better in older adults who said they were spiritual, but did not participate in an organized group.
In addition, people who were religious or spiritual tended to have better social support, showed fewer symptoms of depression, and had better mental functioning.
"I think religion is a powerful factor in helping people to cope with stress, and in particular with health-related stress," study author Dr. Harold G. Koenig said.
Specifically, faith may help people make sense of why they are sick, giving a sense of meaning to their suffering, Koenig said. The extra support from other members of their spiritual community also likely helps, and having faith may often deter them from taking on unhealthy behaviors that people turn to when stressed, such as drinking and smoking, the Duke University Medical Center researcher added.
As part of the study, Koenig and his colleagues interviewed 838 hospitalized adults who were 50 or older about their religious beliefs and practices. Most of the patients had some form of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers also found that older adults who said they were neither religious nor spiritual tended to have worse overall health and more additional illnesses.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Koenig said that doctors often ignore a patient's religious beliefs except when they interfere with treatment, such as when a person refuses a blood transfusion or other medical procedure because of their faith.
Based on these findings, Koenig recommended that health staff ask patients about their beliefs, and acknowledge and support them as part of their care.
That said, Koenig stressed that doctors should not encourage religion in patients who are neither religious nor spiritual, as that is a private decision and one that should not be made solely for health reasons.
"Doctors should not prescribe religion to non-religious patients," he said.
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