Religion and Remission of Depression in Medical Inpatients With Heart Failure/Pulmonary Disease
Abstract
The impact of religious involvement on time to remission of depression was examined in older medical inpatients with heart failure and/or chronic pulmonary disease (CHF/CPD). Inpatients older than 50 years with CHF/CPD were systematically diagnosed with depressive disorder using a structured psychiatric interview. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the effects of religious involvement on time to remission, controlling for covariates. Of 1000 depressed patients identified at baseline, follow-up data on depression course were obtained on 87%. Patients involved in group-related religious activities experienced a shorter time to remission. Although numerous religious measures were unrelated by themselves to depression outcome, the combination of frequent religious attendance, prayer, Bible study, and high intrinsic religiosity, predicted a 53% increase in speed of remission (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.20-1.94, p = 0.0005, n = 839) after controls. Patients highly religious by multiple indicators, particularly those involved in community religious activities, remit faster from depression.
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Of the 178 highest-rigor studies on R/S and depression, 119 (67%) reported inverse relationships and 13 (7%) found positive relationships with depression.
“Of the 178 studies with the highest methodological rigor, 119 (67%) reported inverse relationships [124–135] and 13 (7%) found positive relationships with depression [136–148].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [127]
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Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications
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“[131] H.”
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“…religion because of religious beliefs themselves and not extraneous factors), has consistently been associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms (Koenig, 1998; Musick et al., 1998; Koenig, 2007) and increased speed of remission from clinical depression (Koenig et al., 1998; Koenig, 2007).”
- Authors
- Koenig, H. G.
- Affiliations
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Koenig, Harold G.
- ORCID
- Koenig, Harold G.
- Venue
- Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease
- Published
- 2007-05
- Volume
- 195
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 389-395
- ISSN
- 0022-3018 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W68520005
- Cited by
- 168
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 8.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh057662-05)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH 57662)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Health and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
- Keywords
- religious involvement, depression remission, heart failure, chronic lung disease, older medical inpatients, intrinsic religiosity, religious service attendance, prayer, Bible study, community religious activities, depressive disorders
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Age Factors, Aged, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Follow-Up Studies, Heart Failure, Hospitalization, Humans, Lung Diseases, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Religion, Religion and Medicine, Religion and Psychology, Severity of Illness Index, Social Support, Time Factors, Comorbidity, Outcome Assessment, Health Care
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