Health literacy in older adults: The newest vital sign and its relation to cognition and healthy lifestyle behaviors

Abstract

Health literacy tends to decrease with age, and lower health literacy has been associated with lower levels of physical function, mental health, and medication adherence. The present study examined health literacy in relation to cognition in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. The study also examined the impact of health literacy on engagement in healthy aging lifestyle behaviors. Participants included 128 older adults (age: M = 72.07, SD = 6.71; education: M = 16.34, SD = 2.56; 74% female) who completed a health literacy measure (Newest Vital Sign; NVS), a lifestyle behavior questionnaire (Healthy Aging Activity Engagement scale; HAAE), and several neuropsychological tests. The cognitive domains assessed included memory, executive function, and attention/working memory. Two variables were computed from the NVS to represent the health literacy factors of document and numeracy literacy; these factors demonstrated a small correlation (r = .18). Results revealed that attention/working memory, executive function, and memory were all significantly related to numeracy literacy and overall health literacy. Only memory was significantly related to document literacy. After accounting for age, education, and cognition, a hierarchical regression revealed that health literacy significantly predicted engagement in healthy aging lifestyle behaviors. Multiple cognitive abilities are necessary for searching, finding, and processing information to make health-related decisions. Health literacy accounted for a significant amount of variance in older adults’ engagement in everyday lifestyle behaviors. Health literacy skills may be an area of focus for intervention efforts to improve brain health in older adults.