People with cancer who are religious or spiritual tend to report better physical and mental health, a new study has found.

According to US researchers, previous studies suggest that most people with cancer have some sort of religious or spiritual beliefs, however until now, it has been unclear what impact this may have on their health. They decided to look into this further.

They analysed all published studies on this topic, which involved over 44,000 patients.

The researchers focused first on physical health and found that cancer patients who were more religious or spiritual tended to report better physical health, e.g. they were better able to perform daily tasks and they reported fewer physical symptoms of their disease and treatment.

"These relationships were particularly strong in patients who experienced greater emotional aspects of religion and spirituality, including a sense of meaning and purpose in life as well as a connection to a source larger than oneself," explained one of the study's lead author, Dr Heather Jim, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

She noted that physical health did not appear to be related to the behavioural aspects of religion and spirituality, such as going to mass and praying.

The researchers then focused on mental health. They again found that the emotional aspects of spirituality and religion, rather than the behavioural aspects, were more strongly linked with positive mental health. In other words, it was more about people's innate beliefs rather than how often they prayed or attended church.

"Spiritual wellbeing was, unsurprisingly, associated with less anxiety, depression, or distress. Also, greater levels of spiritual distress and a sense of disconnectedness with God or a religious community was associated with greater psychological distress or poorer emotional wellbeing," commented one of the lead authors, Dr John Salsman, of Northwestern University in Chicago.

The researchers also looked at social health - a patient's ability to maintain social roles and relationships in the face of cancer. They found small but reliable links between religion and spirituality, and better social health.

"When we took a closer look, we found that patients with stronger spiritual wellbeing, more benign images of God (such as perceptions of a benevolent rather than an angry or distant God), or stronger beliefs (such as convictions that a personal God can be called upon for assistance), reported better social health. In contrast, those who struggled with their faith fared more poorly," commented another lead author, Dr Allen Sherman, of the University of Arkansas.

The researchers noted that while this topic has been studied before, this analysis ‘represents the most comprehensive summary' of all of the data that has been published to date.

"Some patients struggle with the religious or spiritual significance of their cancer, which is normal. How they resolve their struggle may impact their health, but more research is needed to better understand and support these patients," Dr Jim commented.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, CANCER.