Listening to faith as a balm for depression.

Antidepressant drugs, such as Prozac, garner much scientific attention as potent depression-busters, as does short-term psychotherapy aimed at altering self-destructive thinking habits. Now, a new study calls attention to a more traditional form of mood raising--religious devotion.

Deeply held religious faith hastens recovery from mild to moderate depression, regardless of treatment with drugs or talk therapy, according to psychiatrist Harold G. Koenig of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and his colleagues.

In a group of elderly people suffering from both depression and any of a variety of physical illnesses, those citing firm religious convictions achieved marked mood improvements in the shortest amount of time. The highly religious individuals who displayed the fastest remissions from depression were also those who had the most severe or intransigent medical problems, the researchers found.

"Religious faith may provide such persons with a sense of hope that things will turn out all right regardless of their problems and thus foster greater motivation to achieve emotional recovery," Koenig says. Mental health clinicians treating depressed patients should inquire about their religious beliefs and incorporate devout faith into treatment, he adds.

Koenig's group recruited 87 people age 60 and older who received hospital care for heart or other health problems. All of the volunteers exhibited symptoms of mild to moderate depression in psychiatric interviews conducted during their hospital stays. Each participant completed four telephone interviews at 12-week intervals after leaving the hospital.

During that period, depressive symptoms such as apathy and constant sadness largely cleared up in 47 individuals. Those who initially cited a high level of "intrinsic religiosity" recovered most quickly, the scientists report in the April American Journal of Psychiatry. This measure, based on responses to 10 statements about religious belief, reflects the extent to which someone's life is organized around and motivated by faith in God.

However, frequent churchgoing and private religious activities such as prayer were not linked with a speedier recovery from depression. Such behaviors don't necessarily signify that a person's life revolves around religious faith, Koenig says.

About half of the participants whose depression lifted received no antidepressants or psychotherapy. High intrinsic religiosity heralded a quickened pace of recovery whether or not participants received such treatment, the scientists hold.

Other factors contributed independently to shedding depression, they add. These consisted of improvements in physical functioning, lack of a family history of psychiatric disorder, and high quality of life. This last measure takes into account the presence of supportive relationships and ability to care for oneself.

Further research is needed to establish whether links exist between religious faith and mood improvement in depressed older adults who seek psychiatric help or who have severe forms of the disorder, Koenig notes.

"This study is consistent with relatively limited prior research and supports the sensible notion that religious faith is a helpful coping mechanism for many people facing life adversities," comments psychiatrist Kenneth S. Kendler of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.

Studies conducted by Kendler indicate that devout adherence to a religious faith serves as a buffer against depression following stressful events for women between the ages of 20 and 50.