Association between prayer activity, inflammation, and survival in advanced cancer patients (ACPs): A preliminary study.

Abstract

e19602 Background: Prayers represent an important coping strategy among ACPs. The Religion Practice Questionnaire (RPQ) is a self-reported measure of religiosity validated in the Brazilian population, and includes a question assessing prayer activity. In this cross sectional prospective study, we determined the association among prayer activity, inflammation and survival in ACPs. Methods: Consecutive ACPs presenting for initial consultation at our Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic between March and December 2011 were enrolled. RPQ was administered by a research nurse, and consists of 15 items rated on a 5-point Likertscale (0=none, 5=very much). High prayer score (HPS) was defined as >3/5 for question 11 ("I make personal prayers – spontaneous communications with God"). Inflammatory markers included white blood cell (WBC), albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP). Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman test. Survival was calculated from study enrolment until death, and analyzed with log rank test and Cox regression model including age, sex, KPS, treatment type and HPS. Results: 112 patients were enrolled: average age 59 y (range 21-85), female 53% (N=59), Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≤70 46% (N=51), most common cancers breast and upper GI (N=41, 37%), no longer on active cancer treatments 48% (N=54). All patients were Christians, and 77 (69%) had HPS. RPQ was not associated with WBC, albumin, CRP nor survival. HPS correlated with WBC (r=-0.24, p=0.02), and CRP (r=-0.26, p=0.01) but not albumin (r=0.18, p=0.08). Patients with HPS survived longer (median 198 d vs. 121 d, p=0.040), which remained significant in multivariate analysis (Table). Conclusions: The act of praying was associated with decreased inflammation and improved survival in ACPs. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings. [Table: see text]