Open AccessHigh health literacy is associated with less obesity and lower Framingham risk score: Sub-study of the VGH-HEALTHCARE trial
Author(s) -
Yuan-Lung Cheng,
Jiah-Hwang Shu,
Hsiu-Chuan Hsu,
Ying Li,
RueyHsing Chou,
PaiFeng Hsu,
YuanJen Wang,
Yaw-Zon Ding,
Teh-Ling Liou,
Yingwen Wang,
Shir Ly Huang,
ChungChi Lin,
TseMin Lu,
HsinBang Leu,
ShingJong Lin,
Wan Leong Chan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0194813
Subject(s) - medicine , framingham risk score , health literacy , diabetes mellitus , metabolic syndrome , disease , physical therapy , fatty liver , obesity , health care , endocrinology , economics , economic growth
Backgrounds Lower health literacy (HL) is associated with several cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of our study was to investigate the association between HL and the Framingham 10-year risk score of CVD. Methods From 2015–2016, 1010 subjects aged 23 to 88 years receiving health check-up in Taipei Veterans General Hospital had complete clinical evaluations and laboratory examinations. Fatty liver was diagnosed by ultrasonography. The short form questionnaire adapted from the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale was used to assess HL. The Framingham risk score was calculated by patient characteristics. Results Subjects with higher BMIs were associated with lower HL scores. The proportion of subjects with MS was higher in the lower health literacy score group (≤ 9) at 28.8%; further analysis found that lower HL was significantly associated with MS in women but not in men. The Spearman’s rho demonstrated that the HL score was significantly associated with the BMI-based ( rho = -0.11; P < 0.001) or lipid-based ( rho = -0.09; P < 0.004) Framingham risk score. Conclusions Higher HL scores were associated with less CVD risk such as lower BMIs, less MS in women, and less fatty liver disease. Furthermore, HL had an inverse association with the Framingham risk score as expected. Therefore, HL in patients with CVD risk should be improved and considered as an important issue in terms of CVD reduction.