The Link Between Religion and Health

Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor

Harold G. Koenig and Harvey J. Cohen

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) studies the relationships between mental states and the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Among the issues it ...

The Link Between Religion and Health

Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor

Harold G. Koenig and Harvey J. Cohen

Description

This book is the first to present new medical research establishing a connection between religion and health and to examine the implications for Eastern and Western religious traditions and for society and culture.
The distinguished list of contributors examine a series of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) topics that relate to religious faith and behavior. PNI studies the relationships between mental states and the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Among the issues it focuses upon are how mental states, in general, and belief states, in particular, affect physical health. The contributors argue that religious involvement and belief can affect certain neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms, and that these mechanisms, in turn, positively affect a wide variety of health outcomes, such as susceptibility to cancer and recovery following surgery. This volume is essential reading for those interested in the relationship between religion and health.

The Link Between Religion and Health

Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor

Harold G. Koenig and Harvey J. Cohen

Introduction
1: The Connection between Psychoneuroimmunology and Religion
2: The Development and History of Psychoneuroimmunology
3: Understanding How Stress Affects the Physical Body
4: Stress, Natural Killer Cells, and Cancer
5: Psychosocial Interventions and Prognosis in Cancer
6: Psychosocial Stress, Social Networks, and Susceptibility to Infection
7: Psychosocial Factors, Immunity, and Wound Healing
8: Psychosocial Factors, Spirituality/Religiousness, and Immune Function in HIV/AIDS Patients
9: Hostility, Neuroendocrine Changes, and Health Outcomes
10: Psychological Stress and Autoimmune Disease
11: Immune, Neuroendocrine, and Religious Measures
12: Psychoneuroimmunology and Eastern Religious Traditions
13: Psychoneuroimmunology and Western Religious Traditions
14: Psychoneuroimmunology and Religion: Implications for Society and Culture
15: Avenues for Future Research
Conclusions

The Link Between Religion and Health

Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor

Harold G. Koenig and Harvey J. Cohen

Author Information

Harold G. Koenig, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Medicine, and Harvey J. Cohen, Professor of Medicine, both at Duke University Medical Center