Socioeconomic Status and the Sense of Coherence among Japanese People Living with HIV

People living with HIV (PLWH) are forced to live with multiple and severe stressors. Focusing on sense of coherence (SOC), which is a concept of salutogenic and stress coping capacity, is useful in PLWH support. This study aimed to examine the association between SOC and socioeconomic status (SES) for Japanese PLWH. Methods: This study used data from the HIV Futures Japan national survey, which is an online survey with a cross-sectional design. This survey of PLWH in Japan was conducted from July 2013 to February 2014 and December 2016 to July 2017, resulting in 1422 valid responses. The mean age (SD) was 38.6 years (8.3). The 13-item SOC scale score was divided into two groups, based on Japanese standard score in a previous study, and logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Education levels were indirectly associated with SOC through occupation. Compared to freelance-profession/self-employed, "unemployed job seekers" (OR [95%CI] = 2.16 [1.16, 4.04]) and "homemaker/recuperating/student" (2.09 [1.09, 4.02]) were directly related to poor SOC, regardless of income. Also, there is a clear SOC disparity in income (compared to ">8 million yen/year", "<1 million yen/year" was 2.94 [1.46, 5.92], and "1-2.99 million yen/year" was 2.49 [1.33, 4.68]). Conclusion: It became clear that there is a relationship between SOC and SES. The results of this research provide important evidence for health promotion measures for PLWH.