The relationship between psychiatric co-morbidity and religiosity in an adult sickle cell disease population in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Psychiatric morbidity is common among adults with sickle cell disease (SCD). Religiosity is touted as helping persons manage and cope with chronic illnesses. The role of religiosity has not been sufficiently explored in adults with SCD. This study examined the relationship between religiosity and psychiatric morbidity in an adult SCD cohort. A cross-sectional study of adults with SCD (n = 200) using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the pain Visual Analogue Scale, Iron-woods Spirituality/Religiousness Index, and Oslo Social Support Scale. Sixty-five (32.5%) participants were diagnosed with psychiatric co-morbidity. Multivariate analysis showed that religiosity was independently associated with less likelihood of having a psychiatric co-morbidity after adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical factors, and the level of social support. Our findings strengthen the available evidence that spirituality/religiosity is a valuable coping strategy for those suffering from SCD and may attenuate the burden of psychiatric co-morbidity.

KEYWORDS:

• Sickle Cell
• Mental Disorders
• Comorbidity
• Sprituality
• Pain
• Nigeria

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).