SynthesisJournal of religion and health2022
Health Effects of Religion, Spirituality, and Supernatural Beliefs in Mainland China: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of religion and health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mild Cognitive Impairment, Religiosity, Spirituality and all-Cause Mortality Among Chinese Older Adults in Ethnic Minority Communities.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Religious Involvement and Depressive Symptoms in Mainland China: A Trend Analysis of Older Adults, 2012-2023.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Effects of religion, spirituality and supernatural beliefs (RSS) upon health in mainland China remain poorly understood, despite strong RSS beliefs influencing Chinese society. We conducted a Chinese-English bilingual systematic review to summarize the state of RSS-health research in mainland China. Study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool. We screened 1858 studies, 162 of which were included in the review. From 2000-2004 to 2015-2019, the number of RSS-health studies in China increased from five to 73. However, only 7% of studies were rated as higher quality. Cross-sectional and case-control studies represented the vast majority of study designs (94%) and religious affiliation was the only RSS measure for 58% of studies. Higher, moderate, and lower quality studies indicated that RSS has both beneficial and adverse health implications. RSS-health research in China has accelerated rapidly in the last 20 years, but fundamental gaps in knowledge remain. Longitudinal study designs and nuanced RSS measures are needed to advance understanding of RSS health effects in China.
Indexed as
Identifiers
35347576What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.