title: Sense of coherence and biomarkers of health in 43-year-old women.
abstract: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate how sense of coherence (SOC) relates to biomarkers of health in 43-year-old nonsmoking premenopausal women. Before taking part in a standardized medical health examination including assessment of blood pressure, blood lipids, and physical symptoms, participants completed a three-item measure of SOC. On the basis of their SOC scores, the 244 women with complete datasets were categorized into 1 of 3 groups with a weak, intermediate, or strong SOC. Results showed that women with a strong SOC had significantly lower levels of systolic blood pressure (p < .05) and total cholesterol (p < .05) than did women with a weak SOC. It is suggested that the lower levels of systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol found in women with a strong SOC may constitute a biological buffer against ill health and disease.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. pls@psychology.su.se
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lindfors
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lundberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008074:Lipoproteins