What Aspects of Religion and Spirituality Affect the Physical Health of Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review

Abstract

In recent years, the literature on the relationship between religion and spirituality (R/S) and the health of cancer patients has been flourishing. Although most studies focus on mental health, many study the physical health of these individuals. In order to summarize the findings of these studies, we reviewed the most recent research on this subject using the PubMed and PsycInfo databases. The objective of this systematic review was to recognize the primary R/S variables studied in research on physical health in cancer contexts. We found that spiritual well-being was the most-researched variable in studies of these characteristics, followed by R/S struggles and other variables such as religious coping; religious commitment or practice; or self-rated R/S. In general, R/S seems to have a positive association with the physical health of cancer patients, although the results are quite heterogeneous, and occasionally there are no relationships or the association is negative. Our results may assist in improving interventions that include spirituality in clinical settings as well as the development of holistic approaches, which may have a positive impact on the quality of life and well-being of cancer patients.

Depresión, ansiedad y activación conductual en pacientes oncológicos mexicanos: comparaciones y factores predictores

“…Al análisis de este resultado y considerando lo expuesto en una revisión sistemática de la literatura llevada a cabo por Gallardo et al 15 puede decirse que las posibles dimensiones relacionadas con dichos efectos son el tipo de apego religioso, el tipo de afrontamiento religioso y la lucha espiritual. Aunque mucho se ha hablado de los efectos protectores de la religión/espiritualidad sobre la salud física y mental, valdría la pena definir con claridad estos constructos y considerar los determinantes psicosociales que influyen en la religión y su impacto en la salud 16 .…”

“…Otras variables asociadas a la presencia de ansiedad y depresión son: el lugar de residencia (p. ej., inseguridad, violencia), religión [14][15][16] y ocupación 14 , la recurrencia del cáncer, otras enfermedades crónicas (diabetes e hipertensión), antecedentes de trastornos psiquiátricos, presencia de cáncer secundario, presencia de metástasis, bajo nivel de educación e ingresos, ser soltero o divorciado 17 y consumo de tabaco 18 .…”

Depression, anxiety and behavioral activation in Mexican cancer patients: comparisons and predictive factors

“…When analyzing this result, and considering what was stated in a systematic review of the literature carried out by Gallardo et al 15 , it can be said that the possible dimensions related to said effects are the type of religious attachment, the type of religious coping and spiritual struggle. Although much has been said about the protective effects of religion/spirituality on physical and mental health, it would be worth to clearly define these constructs and consider the psychosocial determinants that influence religion and its impact on health 16 . Some of the limitations of the present study are related to the sample size; in view of the fact that different neoplasms were considered, it is necessary to have more participants or to analyze dependent variables that are related to others such as performance status, age, and religion within the same tumor variant according to its location.…”

“…As for depression, some of the predictors are known to be: cancer type (mainly neoplasms with paraneoplastic syndromes and cytokine release); clinical stage (a higher presence of mental disorders is observed in the most symptomatic patients); ongoing cancer treatment (makes for more side effects to be likely to occur); history of depression (presence of relapsing depressive episodes or severe depressive symptoms); pain (especially chronic or uncontrolled pain); limited social network (limited size of the social network or perception of poorly functional social support); limited functional status (loss of autonomy for carrying out activities of daily living or leisure); and age (younger patients are more prone to suffer from depression) 7 . Other variables associated with the presence of anxiety and depression are: place of residence (e.g., insecurity, violence), religion [14][15][16] and occupation 14 , cancer recurrence, other chronic diseases (diabetes and hypertension), history of psychiatric disorders, presence of secondary cancer, presence of metastases, low level of education and income, being single or divorced, 17 and smoking 18 .…”

The concept of spirituality in the context of Chinese patients with cancer: A scoping review

“…In practice, spirituality has been studied from several different aspects. In a systematic review that investigated aspects of religion and spirituality that affect the physical health of patients with cancer, spiritual well-being was found to be the most-researched variable, followed by religion and spirituality struggles, religious coping, or religious commitment practice (Almaraz et al, 2022). Spirituality has been defined in multiple ways in literature, and there is no universal consensus on a definition of spirituality.…”