Spirituality, quality of life, and general health: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Some researchers have highlighted the need to integrate spirituality into the definition of health, as they have found a positive relationship between spirituality and quality of life (QoL). Hence, we aim to ascertain the effect of spirituality on mental health and QoL in older people residing in Kumejima Town in Japan. Methods We conducted an interview-based survey between September 2010 and 2011 on people residing in Kumejima Town aged 65 years or older. The scale used was The Spirituality Health Scale for the Elderly. The survey includes items on basic attributes (e.g., age, sex); physical, mental, and social health; spirituality; and quality of life. The analysis was conducted on a causal structure model in which spirituality is a distinct item influencing QoL (Model 1) and a causal structure model in which spirituality poses direct and indirect effects on QoL (Model 2). For each model, we reported the goodness-of-fit in terms of the goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). To compare the models, we used the Akaike information criterion (AIC). Results The total number of participants was 338, of whom 72.5% were female. The average age and its standard deviation were 77.2 ± 6.4 years. We presented a comparison of the results of the analysis of Model 1 and Model 2, with the results favoring Model 2. Also, Model 2 was superior to Model 1 in terms of the AIC, where the value of the AIC is 313.67 for Model 2 compared to 330.48 for Model 1. Conclusion This study was able to show the possibility of preventing a decline in QoL until death by building up spiritual health. However, further studies are required to further investigate these outcomes in the wider population (Japanese and other nationalities) and with some focus on male participants.