Religion, spirituality, and health status in geriatric outpatients

Religion and spirituality remain important social and psychological factors in the lives of older adults, and there is continued interest in examining the effects of religion and spirituality on health status. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of religion and spirituality with self-reported health status in a community-dwelling geriatric population.

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 277 geriatric outpatients participating in a cohort study in the Kansas City area. Patients underwent a home assessment of multiple health status and functional indicators by trained research assistants. A previously validated 5-item measure of religiosity and 12-item spirituality instrument were embedded during the final data collection. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor and self-reported health status.

In univariate analyses, physical functioning (P < .01), quality of life (P < .01), race (P < .01), depression (P < .01), age (P = .01), and spirituality (P < .01) were all associated with self-reported health status, but religiosity was not (P = .12). In a model adjusted for all covariates, however, spirituality remained independently associated with self-appraised good health (P = .01).

Geriatric outpatients who report greater spirituality, but not greater religiosity, are more likely to appraise their health as good. Spirituality may be an important explanatory factor of subjective health status in older adults.