Sunday, January 23, 2005
Can faith help the aged?
A recent study completed at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto suggests that the rate of decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease is slower among those patients who have high levels of spirituality and private religious practices than in those who do not have spiritual beliefs.
The study was led by Yakir Kaufman of the Behavioural Neurology Program and the Rotman Research Institute, both at the Baycrest, and was presented at the 129th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association Convention in Toronto last fall.
Kaufman says that both spirituality and religiosity are positively associated with quality of life and feelings of well-being. These religious beliefs may contribute to the preservation of physical health by enhancing the ability of individuals to maintain overall wellness.
More than 1,200 studies have been completed that explore the relation between religion and health for various mental and physical health conditions.
A majority of these studies, he says, indicate that spirituality and religiosity are associated with lower morbidity (illness and disease), mortality, lower cardiovascular-related mortality, lower levels of depression and psychological stress.
Spirituality and religiosity may affect health outcomes through behavioural, social, psychological, lifestyle and direct physiological pathways.
Patients with Alzheimer's may have a better immune profile, lower rates of depression, higher compliance, quicker response to acute health crises, less health-risking behaviours like smoking and drinking, healthier lifestyles, more optimism, and closer family and social ties if they have spiritual and religious beliefs.
Kaufman found a significant relationship between feelings of spirituality and cognitive decline. Those with a higher degree of religiosity had a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline as measured by the annual point loss on theMini Mental State Exam.
The slowing of the cognitive loss was attributable to religion.
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Marvin Ross is a Hamilton-based medical writer.
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