[High sense of coherence can have health enhancing effects]

Sense of coherence (SOC), e.g. meaningfulness of life, is according to the sociologist A. Antonovsky a health-promoting construct, which has been used in a number of descriptive studies in various populations. The aim of this population-based cross-sectional study was to investigate if middle-aged women with a self-reported low level of SOC also differed in biological variables, e.g. related to glucose and lipid metabolism, from women with a high level of SOC. These variables could potentially represent links in the pathophysiological chain of events causing somatic disease. We found significant differences according to dyslipidaemia (low HDL cholesterol and increased triglyceride levels) between groups of women with differing SOC scores, most negative findings were found in the group with lowest SOC. Women with medium-high or high SOC also reported less symptoms and need of regular medical controls. The results support a potential association between cognitive processes (SOC) and biological mechanisms causing adverse health effects.