Impact of religiosity/spirituality on biological and preclinical markers related to cardiovascular disease. Results from the SPILI III study

Are religiosity and prayer use related with multiple behavioural risk factors for chronic diseases in European adults aged 50+ years?

“…39 In addition, the current study used single questions to evaluate religiosity/ spirituality, whereas earlier studies have examined these characteristics using suitable and validated scales of religious/ spiritual beliefs. 21 Finally, the definition of MBRFs, as well as their cut-off points, might differ to those reported in other studies. 5 Despite these limitations however, the current report provides useful information about the relationship of religiosity and prayer use with MBRFs for chronic disease in European populations and allows comparisons with studies '3' or '4' factors) was used as a categorical dependent variable and gender (males, females), age (50e59, 60e69, 70e79 and 80 þ years), living status (living alone, with partner/spouse), education status (0e7, 8e12 and 13þ years), health conditions (none, 1e2 and 3þ), European regions (North, Central, South), self-rated health status (very good/good, fair, bad/very bad), income levels (country-specific quartiles), religious education (no, yes), religious faith (religious, non-religious) and prayer use (!1 time/day, 1e2 times/week, <1 time/week, never) were used as categorical (ordinal) independent predictors.…”

“…Research has shown that these individuals have more favourable blood lipid levels and body mass 25e27 or lower levels of serum cortisol and carotid media thickness. 21,27 Individuals who participate in religious services and activities have also been shown to abstain from or limit unfavorable lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. 8,9,16,18,35 It is noteworthy that the latter lifestyle behaviours are the most commonly assessed practices in health and lifestyle studies, and their adoption is affected, among others, by the characteristics of the populations studied, such as age, gender and ethnicity.…”

The influence of religiosity on depressive disorders and suicidal behavior

“…Из исследований последнего времени можно выделить работу, проведенную D. Anyfantakis и соавт. [27], которые изучали потенциальные связи религиозности с депрессией. В их исследование были включены 220 пациентов, посещавших учреждение первичной медицинской помощи в сельском городе Спили на Крите, большинство из которых (98,5%) были православными христианами.…”

Update concerning the impact of spirituality/religiosity on cardiovascular disorders

“…The literature has investigated the relationship between spirituality/ religiosity (S/R) and cardiovascular diseases. 1,2 It is well documented the difficulties related to the experimental procedures to evidence any effect. The influence of S/R on risk factors, cardiovascular mortality and other diseases have shown conflicting results, because their relationship is extremely complex, ranging from the decision making, which is under individual's control, until genetic and environmental factors.…”