Spirituality Influences Health, Most U.S. Doctors Say

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Most doctors -- 85 percent -- thought that religion and spirituality was generally a positive influence, but only 6 percent thought that religion and spirituality changed medical outcomes, Curlin's team found.

Curlin's group also found that 76 percent of doctors thought religion and spirituality helped patients cope, 74 percent thought that it gave patients a positive state of mind, and 55 percent thought it gave emotional and practical support through religious community.

Only 7 percent thought religion and spirituality caused negative emotions such as guilt and anxiety, and 2 percent thought it lead patients to decline medical therapy.

In addition, Curlin said that how doctors viewed the contribution of religion and spirituality depended on their own religious beliefs. "Doctors who are not religious say that their patients don't bring up religious or spiritual issues and think that religion impacts in negative ways," he said.

"Doctors who are more religious say their patients do bring up religious issues and that religion has a positive influence," Curlin said.

Dr. Harold G. Koenig is co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center. He said most doctors don't really understand the positive effects that religion can have on patient outcomes.

"There is a misconception or lack of knowledge by many physicians about the effects of religious involvement on hard outcomes, and the under-appreciation of the patients' ability to cope and patients' positive state of mind have on their physical health," Koenig said.

Physical and emotional health are connected, Koenig said. For example, stress can have effects at the cellular level, he noted. "Women under stress have their cells age about a decade faster than women not under stress," he said. "There is evidence of the effect of stress and anxiety on heart attack, on survival, stroke and high blood pressure. If nothing else, it affects patients' motivation toward recovery."

Koenig thinks doctors should be aware of a patient's spirituality. "We don't want doctors to be addressing spiritual issues with patients," he said. "But they've got to know about them and if they make a difference in their coping and in their medical decisions."

More information

For more on spirituality and health, visit the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.