Effects of intercessory prayer on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
BACKGROUND
Many individuals pray during times of illness, but the clinical effects of prayer are not well-understood.


METHODS
We prospectively studied a cohort of 40 patients (mean age, 62 years; 100% white; 82% women) at a private rheumatology practice. All had class II or III rheumatoid arthritis and took stable doses of antirheumatic medications. All received a 3-day intervention, including 6 hours of education and 6 hours of direct-contact intercessory prayer. Nineteen randomly selected sample patients had 6 months of daily, supplemental intercessory prayer by individuals located elsewhere. Ten arthritis-specific outcome variables were measured at baseline and at 3-month intervals for 1 year.


RESULTS
Patients receiving in-person intercessory prayer showed significant overall improvement during 1-year follow-up. No additional effects from supplemental, distant intercessory prayer were found.


CONCLUSIONS
In-person intercessory prayer may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Supplemental, distant intercessory prayer offers no additional benefits.
Matthews
D A
DA
Arthritis/Pain Treatment Center, Clearwater, Fla, USA.
Marlowe
S M
SM
MacNutt
F S
FS
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008602:Mental Healing; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012068:Religion and Medicine