title: [Salutogenesis versus pathogenesis--a new approach to an old wisdom].
abstract: The so called "potentially lost life years" of a population are mostly due to unfavourable lifestyle and lack of health orientation. This could be shown e.g. in view of job-stressors and their consequences for cardio-vascular disease. As important the single risk factor may be, as limited is their impact when we look at the amount of explained variance, mostly only around 10%. On the other hand each examined population includes a larger amount of individuals who will not fall ill in spite of identical stressors as those getting sick. This ability to resist, based on special interior and exterior resources, is now called salutogenesis. It stands opposite to the term pathogenesis. More recent research in that area examines favourable exterior resources such as structures in "social support", favourable conditions at the work-place, in the family and so on. Other more personality oriented abilities include optimism, hardiness, etc. The founder of the theory on salutogenesis, Aaron Antonovsky, describes a concept of "sense of coherence" including (1.) comprehensibility, (2.) manageability, (3.) meaningfulness. More recent therapeutic concepts are based on these assumptions and have proved to be successful.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatrische Universitätspoliklinik Bern.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009446:Neurobiology; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology
vernacular_title: Salutogenese versus Pathogenese--ein neuer Zugang zu einer alten Weisheit.