Religious practices and long-term survival after hospital discharge for an acute coronary syndrome.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Patient Discharge* ; Practice Patterns, Physicians'* ; Religion*; Acute Coronary Syndrome/*epidemiology; Acute Coronary Syndrome/mortality ; Adult ; Aged ; Cause of Death ; Female ; Georgia/epidemiology ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Massachusetts/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Survivors ; Time Factors

Background: Prior studies of healthy populations have found religious practices to be associated with survival. However, no contemporary studies have examined whether religiosity influences survival among patients discharged from the hospital after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The present study examined the relationship between religious practices and 2-year all-cause mortality among hospital survivors of an ACS.
Methods: Patients hospitalized for an ACS were recruited from 6 medical centers in Massachusetts and Georgia between 2011 and 2013. Study participants self-reported three items assessing religiosity: strength/comfort from religion, petition prayers for health, and awareness of intercessory prayers by others. All cause-mortality within 2-years of hospital discharge was ascertained by review of medical records at participating study hospitals and from death certificates. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the multivariable adjusted risk of 2-year all-cause mortality.
Results: Participants (n = 2,068) were on average 61 years old, 34% were women, and 81% were non-Hispanic White. Approximately 85% derived strength/comfort from religion, 61% prayed for their health, and 89% were aware of intercessions. Overall, 6% died within 2 years post-discharge. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables (age, sex, and race/ethnicity), petition prayers were associated with an increased risk of 2-year all-cause mortality (HR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01-2.66). With further adjustment for several clinical and psychosocial measures, this association was no longer statistically significant. Strength and comfort from religion and intercessory prayers were not significantly associated with mortality.
Conclusions: Most ACS survivors acknowledge deriving strength and comfort from religion, praying for their health, and intercessions made by others for their health. Although the reported religious practices were not associated with post-discharge survival after multivariable adjustment, acknowledging that patients utilize their religious beliefs and practices as strategies to improve their health would ensure a more holistic approach to patient management and promote cultural competence in healthcare.
Competing Interests: Dr. David McManus receives sponsored research support from Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Biotronik, Boehringer Ingelheim, and has consulted for Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Samsung Electronics, and FlexCon. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors declare no potential conflict of interest.

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U01 HL105268 United States HL NHLBI NIH HHS

Date Created: 20191005 Date Completed: 20200316 Latest Revision: 20201213

20240104

PMC6777785

10.1371/journal.pone.0223442

31584980