Kobayashi, LC;
Wardle, J;
Wolf, MS;
von Wagner, C;
(2016)
Aging and functional health literacy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
, 71
(3)
pp. 445-457.
10.1093/geronb/gbu161.
![[thumbnail of Main Article]](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text (Main Article)
J_Gerontol_B_Psychol_Sci_Soc_Sci-2014-Kobayashi-geronb_gbu161.pdf Download (541kB) |
|
Text (Supplementary Table)
Supplementary_Table_1.docx Download (18kB) |
|
Text (Supplementary Table 2)
supplemental_Table_2_2_113.revision.docx Download (45kB) |
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To review the evidence on the association between age and limited health literacy, overall and by health literacy test, and to investigate the mediating role of cognitive function. METHODS: The Embase, MEDLINE®, and PsycINFO databases were searched. Eligible studies were conducted in any country or language, included participants aged ≥50 years, presented a measure of association between age and health literacy, and were published through September 2013. RESULTS: Seventy analyses in 60 studies were included in the systematic review; 29 of these were included in the meta-analysis. Older age was strongly associated with limited health literacy in analyses that measured health literacy as reading comprehension, reasoning, and numeracy skills (random effects OR=4.20; 95% CI: 3.13-5.64). By contrast, older age was weakly associated with limited health literacy in studies that measured health literacy as medical vocabulary (random effects OR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.03-1.37). Evidence on the mediating role of cognitive function was limited. DISCUSSION: Health literacy tests that utilize a range of fluid cognitive abilities and mirror everyday health tasks frequently observe skill limitations among older adults. Vocabulary-based health literacy skills appear more stable with age. Researchers should select measurement tests wisely when assessing health literacy of older adults.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Aging and functional health literacy: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/geronb/gbu161 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu161 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com |
| Keywords: | aging, health literacy, cognition, measurement, adults |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1455544 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
