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The Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Quality of Life Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

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Abstract

Patients with chronic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), are prone to emotional distresses and reduction in life quality more than others. This study aimed to assess the relationship between religious beliefs and quality of life among patients with MS. In this study, 145 MS patients completed 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) questionnaires. The results indicated that unorganized religious activities were significantly associated with marital status and education level. Besides, internal religion was positively correlated to mental health. However, religious variables were not effective prognostic factors in physical and mental quality of life. Overall, further studies have to be conducted to determine the role of religion in quality of life of MS patients with different religious backgrounds.

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Acknowledgement

This manuscript was extracted from the part of proposal, which is financially supported by Vice-Chancellor for Research Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (No. 92-01-21-6588), Shiraz, Iran, and also Center for Development of Clinical Research of Namazee Hospital. The authors would like to thank Dr. Nikseresht AR for supporting the study. Authors also wish to express their gratitude to all MS patients for cooperating in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Fatemeh Vizehfar

  2. Department of Nursing, Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Azita Jaberi

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  1. Fatemeh Vizehfar
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  2. Azita Jaberi
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Contributions

FV has contributed to the conception and design of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting and revising the article, and final approval of the version to be submitted. AJ has contributed to the acquisition of the data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting and revising the article, and final approval of the version to be submitted.

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Correspondence to Azita Jaberi.

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Conflict of interest

Author F. Vizeshfar has received research grants from Vice-Chancellor for Research Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Author A. Jaberi is a member of Student Research Committee. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: support was received from the Vice-Chancellor for Research Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

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Vizehfar, F., Jaberi, A. The Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Quality of Life Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis. J Relig Health 56, 1826–1836 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0411-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0411-3

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