Spirituality Aids Recovery from Depression

In a recent study of depressed, medically-ill older adults, researchers at Duke University found that the more religious a patient was, the more quickly they recovered from depression. While many studies have looked at religion's role in preventing depression, this landmark study was one of the first to look at religion's role in recovering from depression.

To study the effects of depression on a population of hospitalized patients, the researchers followed 87 patients aged 60 years or over who were diagnosed with depressive disorder after being admitted to the hospital for a physical illness -- a double diagnosis know as co-morbidity. Co-morbidity can reduce the quality of life, delay recovery from a physical illness, increase length of hospital stay, and increase mortality.

According to the researchers, "patients with higher intrinsic religiosity scores experienced faster remission of depression than did those with lower scores." In fact, as the level of religious intensity increased, so did the speed of recovery from depression. The researchers discovered that, "For every 10-point increase in intrinsic religiosity score, there was a 736 increase in speed of remission." The positive influence of religion held true even after other significant factors - family psychiatric history, functional status, and quality of life - were controlled for.

Intrinsic religiosity is a term to describe a person's internal or personal spiritual life. It is separate from organizational religious activities like church attendance and is measured by such things as belief or experience.

Psychiatrist and researcher David B. Larson, M.D., of the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) observed, "Recovery from serious physical illness is often prolonged by depression. This study indicates that we physicians should encourage our patients to draw on their religious beliefs to work through such a crisis."

Reference:
Koenig, H.G., George, LK, and Peterson, B.L. "Religiosity and Remission of Depression in Medically Ill Older Adults." American Journal of Psychiatry. April 1998; 155(4): 536-542.