Sense of coherence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Randi Opheim; May Solveig Fagermoen; Lars-Petter Jelsness-Jørgensen; Tomm Bernklev; Bjørn Moum

doi:10.1155/2014/989038

Sense of coherence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2014:2014:989038. doi: 10.1155/2014/989038. Epub 2014 Jan 2.

Authors

Randi Opheim¹, May Solveig Fagermoen², Lars-Petter Jelsness-Jørgensen³, Tomm Bernklev⁴, Bjørn Moum¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Division of Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, P.O. Box 4956, Nydalen, 0424 Oslo, Norway ; The Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1171, Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Division of Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, P.O. Box 4956, Nydalen, 0424 Oslo, Norway ; Department of Nursing Science, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1130, Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway.
³ Østfold University College, K.G. Meldahlsvei 9, 1671 Fredrikstad, Norway ; Department of Gastroenterology, Østfold Hospital Trust, 1603 Fredrikstad, Norway.
⁴ Research and Development Department, Telemark Hospital Trust, 3710 Skien, Norway.

Abstract

Background and Aim. Sense of coherence (SOC) is a health-promoting concept reflecting a person's view of life and response to stressful situations and may be of importance in coping with chronic illness. The aim of this study was to explore associations between SOC and sociodemographic, disease-related, and personal characteristics in a sample of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods. Measures included sociodemographic and disease-related data, the Sense of Coherence Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS-5). Results. In total, 428 IBD patients had evaluable questionnaires (response rate 93%). The overall mean SOC total score was 66.25 (SD 11.47) and with no statistically significant difference between patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and patients with Crohn's disease (CD). In the multivariate analyses, higher GSE scores were significantly associated with higher SOC scores and higher FSS-5 scores were significantly associated with lower SOC scores in both UC and CD. Conclusion. GSE and FSS-5 contributed more to the variance in SOC than sociodemographic and disease-related variables. Longitudinal studies are warranted to investigate the value of SOC as a predictor of disability, medication adherence, coping behavior, and health-related quality of life.