Resilience in chronic diseases: A systematic review

Abstract

Resilience can be an important factor in health promotion. The aim of the present study was to carry out a review of the literature in the Pubmed and PsycINFO databases, using the descriptors “resilience” and “chronic disease”. The research contemplated publications conducted in the past 20 years from June 1993 to June 2013. Twelve articles that met the inclusion criteria were identified. These articles pointed towards a negative relationship between resilience and depression, anxiety, incapacitation, and somatization, and also found an inverse correlation between resilience scores and the progression of illness (activity of the disease, control of glycemic level, and severity of depression), and an association between resilience and quality of life and health promotional behavior. In conclusion, resilience may influence the process of illness and outcome in health. It is necessary to develop preventive interventions that allow protective factors for resilience to be developed, which could improve the outcomes in health.

Keywords

• systematic review, chronic disease
• resilience, stress, depression, anxiety, quality of life