Specific Association Between Religiosity and Cognitive Functions in Alzheimer’s Disease

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the specific relationship between subdomains of religious variables and cognitive functions in outpatients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: We recruited 325 patients with AD from a psychiatry outpatient clinic. The Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Duke University Religion Index were used to assess cognitive functions and religiosity. We performed structural equation modeling and partial correlation analysis after controlling for demographic data. Results: The model in which religiosity beneficially affects cognitive functions showed acceptable model fit (root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.076, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.921, comparative fit index = 0.947). In the partial correlation analysis, organizational religious activity demonstrated positive relationships with memory (r = 0.144, P = .010), language (r = 0.149, P = .007), and constructional ability (r = 0.191 P = .001). Nonorganizational religious activity and intrinsic religiosity were positively associated with memory (r = 0.115, P = .040; r = 0.140, P = .012) and constructional ability (r = 0.207, P = .000; r = 0.136, P = .015). Conclusions: The findings suggest that religiosity positively affects cognitive functions and that each religious variable is related differently to the subdomains of cognitive functions in patients with AD.