Spirituality increases survival rate
Patients with strong religious beliefs and a history of attending church services are more likely to survive heart surgery, according to three new studies. Results of the studies were presented at the Spirituality and Healing in Medicine conference held in Houston. Harold G. Koenig, MD, of Duke University in Durham, NC, reports that patients' increased chance of survival following heart surgery can be linked to their strong faith and social support systems.
The mortality rate for those patients is one-third lower than those without a strong faith. "The frequent church attenders were more likely during the 28 years to stop smoking, increase exercise, maintain their marriages and, in general, lead healthier lifestyles," Koenig says.
In a similar study, researchers at the University of California in Berkeley found data supporting Koenig's study. Of 5,000 persons involved in the 30-year study, those who attended church at least once a week had mortality rates 25% to 35% lower than persons who attended church sporadically.
In the last study, findings from the Duke University Medical Center suggest that regular church attendance boosts the immune system of patients. Persons not attending religious services had about half the possibility of having high level interleukin-6 in their blood than persons attending religious services.
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