Religiosity and Spirituality: The Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Cardiovascular Health

Abstract

Background: Religiosity and Spirituality (R/S), despite being different entities, are multidimensional constructs, whose influence on cardiovascular health has been increasingly studied in recent decades. Objectives: To discriminate patients into subgroups according to R/S levels, in order to compare them regarding the distribution of cardiovascular comorbidities and clinical events. Methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional, analytical study. Two R/S scales were applied to a sample of patients seen at cardiology outpatient clinics. A cluster analysis was used to discriminate individuals into subgroups regarding R/S levels, which were subsequently compared regarding the frequencies of clinical variables related to cardiovascular health. A significance level of 5% was set for the statistical tests. Results: The sample included 237 patients with a mean age of 60.8 years (±10.7), of which 132 were female (55.7%). Cluster analysis (C) distinguished two groups: C1, with lower levels of R/S, and C2, with higher levels of R/S (p<0.001). C2 had a lower frequency of alcohol consumption (29.5% vs. 76.0%; p<0.001), smoking (12.9% vs. 51.0%; p<0.001), systemic arterial hypertension (SAH — 65.5% vs. 82.3%; p=0.005), dyslipidemia (58.3% vs. 77.1%; p=0.003), chronic coronary syndrome (36.7% vs. 58.3%; p=0.001), and prior cardiovascular events (15.8% vs. 36.5%; p<0.001) when compared to C1. There was also a higher frequency of females in C2 (82.0% vs. 17.7%; p<0.001). Conclusions: A better cardiovascular morbidity profile was observed in the group of patients with higher R/S levels, suggesting a probable positive relationship between R/S and cardiovascular health.