Marvaki Ch, Pilatis N, Nestor A, Polikandrioti M, Kalogianni A, Sarri A,Vordou, P, Kelaidaki I, Gorou M
Faith is the first and fundamental virtue on which all the remaining virtues are supported as if it were a foundation. Faith is not a duty. It is an experience and emotion. There is a close relation between the ability to believe in God and His healing power. Many studies refer to the relationship concerning the religious faith and the healing power with several diseases. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is the investigation of the relationship between the conscious faith and the prevalence of the coronary diseases. Material – Method: 481 Greek Orthodox citizens took part in the study. 85% were residents of Athens and the 15% were residents of the provinces. 60% of the sample were women and 40% were men. For the requirements of the data’s statistical analysis the population of the study was separated into two groups, the conscious faithful (group A) and the faithful according to family tradition (group B). A self?completed questionnaire of 38 closed?type questions was used for the selection of information. The questions were related to religious faith and the existence or non?existence of coronary artery disease. Results: The study showed that: 84% of the sample believes in God consciously, 47% of group A and 18% of group B (p<0.001) prays a lot, and finally the faith in God helps in health problems, as 42% of group A and 20% of group B (p<0.001) supports. 32.5% of the total amount of those asked fasts consciously. In a multifactorial analysis, where the existence of coronary artery disease constitutes an independent variable and the predisposing risk factors as well as the conscious fasting constitute the dependent variable, the factor «conscious fasting» is an independent negative index of occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Conclusions: To conclude, it seems that the factor «conscious fasting » is an independent negative index of occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD).
