Sense of coherence (SOC) related to health and mortality among the very old: The Umeå 85+ study

We describe associations between sense of coherence (SOC) and sense of well-being, diseases, physical function and the predictive value of SOC on depression and mortality. The study included 190 participants, aged 85–103 years. Linear correlation analysis was used for relationships between SOC scores and continuous variables. The effects of SOC score on 1- and 4-year mortality, as well as on depression at the 5-year follow-up, were investigated using Cox regression models. The mean SOC score was 71.8 ± 10.2 (±S.D.). SOC score was positively related to well-being (p ≤ 0.001). Heart failure (p = 0.009), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.015), depression (p = 0.015), and osteoarthritis (p = 0.032) were significantly associated with low SOC scores, as were high scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) (p = 0.002). One-year mortality was significantly associated with the SOC score (OR = 0.945, confidence interval (CI) = 0.898–0.995, p = 0.032), while the 4-year mortality was not (OR = 0.995, CI = 0.973–1.018, p = 0.674). The SOC score did not predict depression at 5-year follow-up (OR = 0.977, CI = 0.937–1.018, p = 0.267). Strong SOC was associated with well-being in this group of old people. Low SOC was found among those with diseases known to have a negative influence on daily life.