Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Spirituality and Religiosity on Mental Health and Quality of Life of Patients with Active Crohn’s Disease

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We aim to investigate the association among religious/spiritual coping (RSC), quality of life (QOL), and mental health in patients with active Crohn’s disease (CD). This cross-sectional study included 102 patients with active CD. Religious and spiritual beliefs were common among patients, being positive RSC higher than negative RSC. Negative coping was associated with mood disorders (depressive or anxiety symptoms) through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (β = 0.260, p < 0.01) but not with QOL (Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire) (β = − 0.105, p = NS) after adjustments. Positive coping and other religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors were not associated with either QOL or mental health. This study suggests that a negative RSC is associated with worse mental health outcomes. This may detrimentally impact adaptations to deal with CD in the active phase, although patients generally tend to use more common positive strategies. These findings may increase the awareness of health professionals while dealing with spiritual beliefs in patients with CD.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, P. B., Gower-Rousseau, C., Danese, S., & Peyrin-Biroulet, L. (2017). Preventing disability in inflammatory bowel disease. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology,10(11), 865–876. https://doi.org/10.1177/1756283x17732720.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, C. N., Singh, S., Graff, L. A., Walker, J. R., Miller, N., & Cheang, M. (2010). A prospective population-based study of triggers of symptomatic flares in IBD. American Journal of Gastroenterology,105(9), 1994–2002. https://doi.org/10.1038/ajg.2010.140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Best, M., Butow, P., & Olver, I. (2016). Doctors discussing religion and spirituality: A systematic literature review. Palliative Medicine,30(4), 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216315600912.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bhandari, S., Larson, M. E., Kumar, N., & Stein, D. (2017). Association of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) with Depressive Symptoms in the United States Population and Independent Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in an IBD Population: A NHANES Study. Gut and Liver,11(4), 512–519. https://doi.org/10.5009/gnl16347.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Botega, N. J., Bio, M. R., Zomignani, M. A., Garcia, C., Jr., & Pereira, W. A. B. (1995). Mood disorders among medical in-patients: A validation study of the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD). Revista de saúde pública,29(5), 359–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burisch, J., Jess, T., Martinato, M., & Lakatos, P. L. (2013). The burden of inflammatory bowel disease in Europe. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis,7(4), 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crohns.2013.01.010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton, S., Kudel, I., Roberts, Y. H., Pallerla, H., Tsevat, J., Succop, P., et al. (2009). Spiritual well-being and mental health outcomes in adolescents with or without inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of Adolescent Health,44(5), 485–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.09.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, H., Schäfer, M., Schöls, M., Köcke, J., Elsenbruch, S., Lauche, R., et al. (2017). Randomised clinical trial: Yoga vs written self-care advice for ulcerative colitis. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics,45(11), 1379–1389.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dignass, A., Van Assche, G., Lindsay, J. O., Lémann, M., Söderholm, J., Colombel, J. F., et al. (2010). The second European evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease: Current management. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis,4(1), 28–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Esperandio, M. R. G., Escudero, F. T., Fernandes, M. L., & Pargament, K. I. (2018). Brazilian validation of the brief scale for spiritual/religious coping—SRCOPE-14. Religions,9(1), 31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freitas, T. H., Hyphantis, T. N., Andreoulakis, E., Quevedo, J., Miranda, H. L., Alves, G. S., et al. (2015). Religious coping and its influence on psychological distress, medication adherence, and quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry,37(3), 219–227. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2014-1507.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galek, K., Flannelly, K. J., Koenig, H. G., & Fogg, S. L. (2007). Referrals to chaplains: The role of religion and spirituality in healthcare settings. Mental Health, Religion and Culture,10(4), 363–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonçalves, A. M. S., & Pillon, S. C. (2009). Transcultural adaptation and evaluation of the internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the Spirituality Self Rating Scale (SSRS). Revista de Psiquiatria Clínica,36(1), 10–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, E., Jackson, J., Shaffer, J., Thompson, D., Tomenson, B., & Creed, F. (2002). Psychological disorder and severity of inflammatory bowel disease predict health-related quality of life in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The American Journal of Gastroenterology,97(8), 1994.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, R. F., & Bradshaw, J. M. (1980). A simple index of Crohn’s-disease activity. The Lancet,315(8167), 514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert, R. S., Dang, Q., & Schulz, R. (2007). Religious beliefs and practices are associated with better mental health in family caregivers of patients with dementia: Findings from the REACH study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,15(4), 292–300. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JGP.0000247160.11769.ab.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert, R., Zdaniuk, B., Schulz, R., & Scheier, M. (2009). Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer. Journal of Palliative Medicine,12(6), 537–545. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2008.0250.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hoivik, M. L., Moum, B., Solberg, I. C., Cvancarova, M., Hoie, O., Vatn, M. H., et al. (2012). Health-related quality of life in patients with ulcerative colitis after a 10-year disease course: Results from the IBSEN study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases,18(8), 1540–1549. https://doi.org/10.1002/ibd.21863.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and health: The research and clinical implications. ISRN Psychiatry,2012, 278730. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/278730.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (2015). Religion, spirituality, and health: A review and update. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine,29(3), 19–26.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H., Parkerson, G. R., Jr., & Meador, K. G. (1997). Religion index for psychiatric research. American Journal of Psychiatry,154(6), 885–886.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenstein, G. R., Hanauer, S. B., & Sandborn, W. J. (2009). Management of Crohn’s disease in adults. The American Journal of Gastroenterology,104(2), 465.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lima, F. D., Ribeiro, T. C. R., Chebli, L. A., Pace, F. H. L., Chaves, L. D. M., Ribeiro, M. S., et al. (2012). Mood swings in patients with Crohn’s disease: Incidence and associated factors. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira,58(4), 481–488.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucchetti, G., & Lucchetti, A. L. (2014). Spirituality, religion, and health: Over the last 15 years of field research (1999–2013). International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine,48(3), 199–215. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.48.3.e.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucchetti, G., Lucchetti, A. L., & Puchalski, C. M. (2012a). Spirituality in medical education: Global reality? Journal of Religion and Health,51(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9557-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucchetti, G., Lucchetti, A. L. G., Peres, M. F., Leão, F. C., Moreira-Almeida, A., & Koenig, H. G. (2012b). Validation of the duke religion index: DUREL (Portuguese version). Journal of Religion and Health,51(2), 579–586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mikocka-Walus, A., Knowles, S. R., Keefer, L., & Graff, L. (2016). Controversies revisited: A systematic review of the comorbidity of depression and anxiety with inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases,22(3), 752–762. https://doi.org/10.1097/mib.0000000000000620.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, A., Guyatt, G., Singer, J., Irvine, E. J., Goodacre, R., Tompkins, C., et al. (1988). Quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology,10(3), 306–310.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mittermaier, C., Dejaco, C., Waldhoer, T., Oefferlbauer-Ernst, A., Miehsler, W., Beier, M., et al. (2004). Impact of depressive mood on relapse in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A prospective 18-month follow-up study. Psychosomatic Medicine,66(1), 79–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira-Almeida, A., Koenig, H. G., & Lucchetti, G. (2014). Clinical implications of spirituality to mental health: Review of evidence and practical guidelines. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry,36(2), 176–182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, B., Shrestha, S., Stanley, M. A., Pargament, K. I., Cummings, J., Kunik, M. E., et al. (2018). Positive and negative religious coping as predictors of distress among minority older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4983.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Panzini, R. G., Mosqueiro, B. P., Zimpel, R. R., Bandeira, D. R., Rocha, N. S., & Fleck, M. P. (2017). Quality-of-life and spirituality. International Review of Psychiatry,29(3), 263–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2017.1285553.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parekh, N. K., Shah, S., McMaster, K., Speziale, A., Yun, L., Nguyen, D. L., et al. (2017). Effects of caregiver burden on quality of life and coping strategies utilized by caregivers of adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Annals of Gastroenterology,30(1), 89–95. https://doi.org/10.20524/aog.2016.0084.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The Brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions,2(1), 51–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., Tarakeshwar, N., & Hahn, J. (2004). Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Health Psychology,9(6), 713–730. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105304045366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pontes, R. M., Miszputen, S. J., Ferreira-Filho, O. F., Miranda, C., & Ferraz, M. B. (2004). Quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: Translation to Portuguese language and validation of the “Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire” (IBDQ). Arquivos de gastroenterologia, 41(2), 137–143.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rawsthorne, P., Shanahan, F., Cronin, N. C., Anton, P. A., Löfberg, R., Bohman, L., et al. (1999). An international survey of the use and attitudes regarding alternative medicine by patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The American Journal of Gastroenterology,94(5), 1298–1303.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sajadinejad, M. S., Asgari, K., Molavi, H., Kalantari, M., & Adibi, P. (2012). Psychological issues in inflammatory bowel disease: An overview. Gastroenterology Research and Practice,2012, 106502.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sarid, O., Slonim-Nevo, V., Pereg, A., Friger, M., Sergienko, R., Schwartz, D., et al. (2017). Coping strategies, satisfaction with life, and quality of life in Crohn’s disease: A gender perspective using structural equation modeling analysis. PLoS ONE,12(2), e0172779. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172779.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Satsangi, J., Silverberg, M. S., Vermeire, S., & Colombel, J. (2006). The Montreal classification of inflammatory bowel disease: Controversies, consensus, and implications. Gut,55(6), 749–753.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Swarup, N., Nayak, S., Lee, J., Raikar, S. P., Hou, D., Sockalingam, S., et al. (2017). Forming a support group for people affected by inflammatory bowel disease. Patient Preference and Adherence,11, 277.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Taheri-Kharameh, Z., Zamanian, H., Montazeri, A., Asgarian, A., & Esbiri, R. (2016). Negative religious coping, positive religious coping, and quality of life among hemodialysis patients. Nephro-Urology Monthly,8(6), e38009. https://doi.org/10.5812/numonthly.38009.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tothova, V., Bartlova, S., Dolak, F., Kaas, J., Kimmer, D., Manhalova, J., et al. (2014). Quality of life in patients with chronic diseases. Neuro Enocrinology Letters,35(Suppl 1), 11–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitorino, L. M., Lucchetti, G., Santos, A. E., Lucchetti, A. L., Ferreira, E. B., Adami, N. P., et al. (2016). Spiritual religious coping is associated with quality of life in institutionalized older adults. Journal of Religion and Health,55(2), 549–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0148-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, S. R., & Pargament, K. I. (2014). The role of religion and spirituality in mental health. Current Opinion in Psychiatry,27(5), 358–363. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000080.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J. (2016). Pargament’s theory of religious coping: Implications for spiritually sensitive social work practice. The British Journal of Social Work,46(5), 1394–1410. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv080.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

All authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University Hospital, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, University of Juiz de Fora School of Medicine, Maria José Leal Street, 296, CEP 36036-247, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil

    Renata Jacob Daniel Salomão de Campos, Tarsila Campanha da Rocha Ribeiro, Liliana Andrade Chebli, Carla Malaguti, Pedro Duarte Gaburri, Lívia Maria Neiva Pereira, Juliana Garcia de Almeida & Julio Maria Fonseca Chebli

  2. Division of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

    Giancarlo Lucchetti & Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti

Authors
  1. Renata Jacob Daniel Salomão de Campos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Giancarlo Lucchetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tarsila Campanha da Rocha Ribeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Liliana Andrade Chebli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Carla Malaguti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Pedro Duarte Gaburri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Lívia Maria Neiva Pereira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Juliana Garcia de Almeida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Julio Maria Fonseca Chebli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julio Maria Fonseca Chebli.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare, including relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations, relating to this manuscript.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee of University Hospital of Federal University of Juiz de Fora (IRB No. 662.487) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. Informed consent was obtained from participants at the time of registry for enrollment.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

de Campos, R.J.D.S., Lucchetti, G., Lucchetti, A.L.G. et al. The Impact of Spirituality and Religiosity on Mental Health and Quality of Life of Patients with Active Crohn’s Disease. J Relig Health 59, 1273–1286 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00801-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00801-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation