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Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study
- Authors:
- BOSTOCK Sophie, STEPTOE Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- British Medical Journal, 14.4.12, 2012, p.15.
- Publisher:
- British Medical Association
Using participants from the second wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study investigates the association between the ability to read and understand basic health related information and mortality in older adults. Participants were 7857 adults aged 52 or more who participated in the second wave (2004-5) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and survived more than 12 months after interview. Participants completed a brief four item test of functional health literacy, which assessed understanding of written instructions for taking an aspirin tablet. Health literacy was categorised as high (maximum score, 67.2%), medium (one error, 20.3%), or low (more than one error, 12.5%).During follow-up (mean 5.3 years) 621 deaths occurred: 321 (6.1%) in the high health literacy category, 143 (9.0%) in the medium category, and 157 (16.0%) in the low category. Results found a third of older adults in England were found to have difficulties reading and understanding basic health related written information. Poorer understanding was associated with higher mortality.
The dynamics of ageing: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002-10: wave 5
- Editors:
- BANKS James, NAZROO James, STEPTOE Andrew
- Publisher:
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 337
- Place of publication:
- London
This and previous English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) reports present a detailed picture of the lives of people in England aged 50 and over. This report of wave 5 uses data based on interviews with 10,274 people (including 9,000 "core" participants), collected from July 2010 to June 2011 inclusive, a period of considerable change with the installatoin of the Coalition government and the start of a period of austerity. The report discusses three main themes: pension wealth; social detachment in older age; and health and psychological well-being. A chapter on methodology explains the sample design, interview content and the approach to fieldwork. Reference tables on the economic, social and health domains summarise important variables collected by ELSA. Design and collection was carried out as a collaboration between the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London (UCL), the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), and the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. (Original abstract)