Allostatic load and clinical risk as related to sense of coherence in middle-aged women

To investigate how physiologic dysregulation, in terms of allostatic load and clinical risk, respectively, relates to sense of coherence (SOC) in women with no previously diagnosed pathology.

At baseline, 200 43-year-old women took part in a standardized medical health examination and completed a 3-item measure of SOC, which they completed again 6 years later. According to data from the medical examination, two different measures of physiologic dysregulation were calculated: a) a measure of allostatic load based on empirically derived cut points and b) a measure of clinical risk based on clinically significant cut points.

In line with the initial hypotheses, allostatic load was found to predict future SOC, whereas clinical risk did not. In addition to baseline SOC and nicotine consumption, allostatic load was strongly associated with a weak SOC at the follow-up.

The better predictive value of allostatic load to clinical risk indicates that focusing solely on clinical risk obscures patterns of physiologic dysregulation that influence future SOC.