Associations between religiosity and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and well-being in Korean adults living with epilepsy

Purpose Religiosity can be important in the everyday life of persons with epilepsy (PWE). How PWE live with religiosity can be influenced by their cultural background. We determined whether religiosity is associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, and well-being in Korean adults with epilepsy. Methods This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of five university hospitals in Korea. Religiosity was assessed using the five-item Duke University Religion Index (DUREL). The WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale were used. The participants were categorized into three subgroups bounded by the 33rd and 66th percentiles of their DUREL scores. Results Of a total of 226 participants, 61.1% declared that they had religious affiliation. The median DUREL score was 11 (interquartile ranges 6, 18). All three subscales of the DUREL were significantly related to WHO-5 (p < 0.01). Non-organizational religious activities such as prayer and meditation were also inversely related to anxiety (p < 0.05) and depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). After controlling for confounding variables, anxiety and depressive symptoms were more extensive in the low religiosity subgroup than in the high or no religiosity subgroup (p < 0.01) and well-being was higher in the high or low religiosity subgroup than in the no religiosity subgroup (p < 0.05). Conclusions Religiosity is significantly associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, and well-being in Korean adults with epilepsy.