Thursday, September 30, 2010

Faith in God associated with improved survival after liver transplantation



Dawn Peters - Wiley-Blackwell

Italian researchers report that liver transplant candidates who have a strong religious connection have better post-transplant survival. This study also finds that religiosity—regardless of cause of death—prolongs the life span of individuals who underwent liver transplantation. Full findings are now available online and in the October issue of Liver Transplantation. a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Much of the medical profession today is focused on the delivery of services, rather than whole patient care which not only takes into account physical well-being, but psychological, social, and spiritual aspects as well. Although there is a lack of interest in religion by the medical community, the authors point out that 90% of the world's population today is involved in some form of religion or spiritual pursuit. Prior studies have demonstrated that r


eligiosity allows individuals to better cope with illness, and may even influence disease progression. Furthermore, a report by McCullough et al. that included a meta-analysis of 42 studies (surveying roughly 126,000 people) found active religious involvement increased the odds of being alive at follow-up by 26%.

"Our study tested the hypothesis that religiosity—seeking God's help, having faith in God, trusting in God, trying to discern God's will even in the disease—improves survival of patients with end-stage liver disease who underwent liver transplantation," explains Franco Bonaguidi, D.Psych., and lead author of the study. ...

via Faith in God associated with improved survival after liver transplantation.

Which god is most useful for surviving a liver transplant?  I'd guess it would be Imsety. According to one site,  "Imsety was the god that guarded the liver canopic jar."  Imsety is the Egyptian god of protecting the liver. He typically did this protection for dead people, but I'm thinking he's got plenty of experience, and living livers would be even easier for him to protect.

1 comment:

Ann said...

Xeno, did you get that photo from a text entitled something like, "Surgical Techniques Made Easy for the Home-based Practitioner."

The book would must have been heavily illustrated, because as Charlie Brooker, in the Guardian (9 March 2009) writes, "Apparently 65% of us have lied about reading the great works of literature" including the Bible, not to mention medical tomes.

The first sentence in Mr. Brooker's article:

"Congratulations on having read this far."