Spirituality Influences Health, Most U.S. Doctors Say

In addition, Curlin said that how doctors viewed the contribution of religion and spirituality depended on their own religious beliefs. "Doctors who are not religious say that their patients don't bring up religious or spiritual issues and think that religion impacts in negative ways," he said.

"Doctors who are more religious say their patients do bring up religious issues and that religion has a positive influence," Curlin said.

Dr. Harold G. Koenig is co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center. He said most doctors don't really understand the positive effects that religion can have on patient outcomes.

"There is a misconception or lack of knowledge by many physicians about the effects of religious involvement on hard outcomes, and the under-appreciation of the patients' ability to cope and patients' positive state of mind have on their physical health," Koenig said.

Physical and emotional health are connected, Koenig said. For example, stress can have effects at the cellular level, he noted. "Women under stress have their cells age about a decade faster than women not under stress," he said. "There is evidence of the effect of stress and anxiety on heart attack, on survival, stroke and high blood pressure. If nothing else, it affects patients' motivation toward recovery."

Koenig thinks doctors should be aware of a patient's spirituality. "We don't want doctors to be addressing spiritual issues with patients," he said. "But they've got to know about them and if they make a difference in their coping and in their medical decisions."

More information

For more on spirituality and health, visit the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

SOURCES: Farr A. Curlin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, University of Chicago; Harold G. Koenig, M.D., co-director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; April 9, 2007,Archives of Internal Medicine