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. 2018 Nov;27(11):2777-2797.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-018-1906-4. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

Association of religiosity and spirituality with quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review

Hawa O Abu  1 , Christine Ulbricht  2 , Eric Ding  2 , Jeroan J Allison  2 , Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher  3   4   5 , Robert J Goldberg  2 , Catarina I Kiefe  2
Affiliations

Association of religiosity and spirituality with quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review

Hawa O Abu et al. Qual Life Res. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: This review systematically identified and critically appraised the available literature that has examined the association between religiosity and/or spirituality (R/S) and quality of life (QOL) in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: We searched several electronic online databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) from database inception until October 2017. Included articles were peer-reviewed, published in English, and quantitatively examined the association between R/S and QOL. We assessed the methodological quality of each included study.

Results: The 15 articles included were published between 2002 and 2017. Most studies were conducted in the US and enrolled patients with heart failure. Sixteen dimensions of R/S were assessed with a variety of instruments. QOL domains examined were global, health-related, and disease-specific QOL. Ten studies reported a significant positive association between R/S and QOL, with higher spiritual well-being, intrinsic religiousness, and frequency of church attendance positively related with mental and emotional well-being. Approximately half of the included studies reported negative or null associations.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher levels of R/S may be related to better QOL among patients with CVD, with varying associations depending on the R/S dimension and QOL domain assessed. Future longitudinal studies in large patient samples with different CVDs and designs are needed to better understand how R/S may influence QOL. More uniformity in assessing R/S would enhance the comparability of results across studies. Understanding the influence of R/S on QOL would promote a holistic approach in managing patients with CVD.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Global QOL; Health-related QOL; Quality of life; Religiosity; Spirituality.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram for systematic review methodology in accordance with PRISMA guidelines
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