title: Religion, spirituality, and physical health in cancer patients: A meta-analysis.
abstract: Although religion/spirituality (R/S) is important in its own right for many cancer patients, a large body of research has examined whether R/S is also associated with better physical health outcomes. This literature has been characterized by heterogeneity in sample composition, measures of R/S, and measures of physical health. In an effort to synthesize previous findings, a meta-analysis of the relation between R/S and patient-reported physical health in cancer patients was performed. A search of PubMed, PsycINFO, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Cochrane Library yielded 2073 abstracts, which were independently evaluated by pairs of raters. The meta-analysis was conducted for 497 effect sizes from 101 unique samples encompassing more than 32,000 adult cancer patients. R/S measures were categorized into affective, behavioral, cognitive, and 'other' dimensions. Physical health measures were categorized into physical well-being, functional well-being, and physical symptoms. Average estimated correlations (Fisher z scores) were calculated with generalized estimating equations with robust variance estimation. Overall R/S was associated with overall physical health (z = 0.153, P < .001); this relation was not moderated by sociodemographic or clinical variables. Affective R/S was associated with physical well-being (z = 0.167, P < .001), functional well-being (z = 0.343, P < .001), and physical symptoms (z = 0.282, P < .001). Cognitive R/S was associated with physical well-being (z = 0.079, P < .05) and functional well-being (z = 0.090, P < .01). 'Other' R/S was associated with functional well-being (z = 0.100, P < .05). In conclusion, the results of the current meta-analysis suggest that greater R/S is associated with better patient-reported physical health. These results underscore the importance of attending to patients' religious and spiritual needs as part of comprehensive cancer care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Heather S L
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jim
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pustejovsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Crystal L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences & Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Suzanne C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Danhauer
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Medicine Division, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: Allen C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.affiliation: Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fitchett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
authors.forename: Thomas V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Merluzzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Alexis R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Login
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.|Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Mallory A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.|Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Salsman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D026443:Spiritual Therapies; D029181:Spirituality; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: cancer; meta-analysis; quality of life; religion; spirituality