Koenig H G
Duke University Medical Center and GRECC, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
J Gend Specif Med. 2000 Jul-Aug;3(5):37-44.
A recent systematic review of research on religion and health has found a consistent relationship between religion and better mental health as well as greater social support. There also appears to be a relationship between religious involvement and better physical health, although the mechanism for this effect is poorly understood. One way that religion could impact physical health is through neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms, or psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). This article describes the physiological mechanisms by which the mind affects the body, reviews research substantiating the link between psychosocial processes and immune functioning, and examines the limited research that has addressed the religion-PNI relationship. Gender differences are emphasized.
最近一项关于宗教与健康的研究系统综述发现，宗教与更好的心理健康以及更多的社会支持之间存在着持续的关联。宗教参与和更好的身体健康之间似乎也存在关联，尽管这种影响的机制还不太清楚。宗教影响身体健康的一种方式可能是通过神经内分泌和免疫机制，即心理神经免疫学（PNI）。本文描述了心理影响身体的生理机制，回顾了证实社会心理过程与免疫功能之间联系的研究，并审视了已有的关于宗教与心理神经免疫学关系的有限研究。文中强调了性别差异。
