Sense of coherence as an independent predictor of health-related quality of life among coronary heart disease patients

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine whether sense of coherence (SOC) at baseline predicts health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 12-28-month follow-up among patients with coronary heart disease when controlled for sociodemographic and medical variables. Methods A total of 179 consecutive patients (58.28 ± 6.52 years, 16.8 women) scheduled for coronary angiography (CAG) were interviewed before CAG and 12-28 months after. SOC was measured with the 13-item Orientation to Life Questionnaire. HRQoL was measured using the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), from which the mental and physical component summaries (MCS, PCS) were calculated. The relationship between SOC and HRQoL was examined using regression analyses. Results SOC proved to be a significant predictor of the MCS-score (B = 0.29; 95 CI = 0.17-0.41) and PCSscore (B = 0.18; 95 CI = 0.06-0.31) when not adjusted for possible confounding sociodemographic and medical variables. After adjustment for sociodemographic and medical variables, SOC remained a predictor of the MCSscore (B = 0.26; 95 CI = 0.14-0.39). SOC also remained a predictor of the PCS-score when controlled for gender, age and family income; however, the association disappeared after adjustment for functional status (B = 0.07; 95 CI = -0.05 to 0.19). Conclusions SOC is a predictor of mental and physical HRQoL at 12-28-month follow-up, crude and also after adjustment. Patients undergoing CAG with low SOC thus deserve particular attention in regard to the maintenance and improvement of their HRQoL. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012.