Linear regression results for the association between age and health literacy, the LitCog Cohort, 2008–2010 (n=774)
| Model 1 Age only | Model 2 Age+FA | Model 3 Age+CA | Model 4 Age+FA+CA | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coefficient | 95% CI | Coefficient | 95% CI | Coefficient | 95% CI | Coefficient | 95% CI | |
| TOFHLA score | ||||||||
| Age (years) | ||||||||
| 55–59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 60–64 | −0.13 | (−0.27 to 0.00) | −0.01 | (−0.12 to 0.10) | −0.13 | (−0.24 to −0.02) | −0.06 | (−0.16 to 0.05) |
| 65–69 | −0.15 | (−0.31 to 0.00) | 0.00 | (−0.13 to 0.13) | −0.17 | (−0.29 to −0.04) | −0.07 | (−0.19 to 0.05) |
| 70–74 | −0.39 | (−0.55 to −0.22) | −0.06 | (−0.20 to 0.08) | −0.37 | (−0.51 to −0.24) | −0.18 | (−0.21 to −0.05) |
| Fluid ability | – | – | 0.64 | (0.57 to 0.71) | – | – | 0.39 | (0.32 to 0.47) |
| Crystallised ability | – | – | – | – | 0.71 | (0.64 to 0.78) | 0.47 | (0.39 to 0.55) |
| Adjusted R2 | 0.43 | 0.61 | 0.62 | 0.67 | ||||
| NVS score | ||||||||
| Age (years) | ||||||||
| 55–59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 60–64 | −0.04 | (−0.16 to 0.09) | 0.06 | (−0.06 to 0.017) | −0.04 | (−0.15 to 0.08) | 0.04 | (−0.08 to 0.15) |
| 65–69 | −0.10 | (−0.25 to 0.04) | 0.01 | (−0.12 to 0.15) | −0.11 | (−0.25 to 0.02) | −0.02 | (−0.15 to 0.11) |
| 70–74 | −0.38 | (−0.53 to −0.22) | −0.12 | (−0.26 to 0.02) | −0.37 | (−0.51 to −0.23) | −0.18 | (−0.32 to −0.04) |
| Fluid ability | – | – | 0.50 | (0.43 to 0.56) | – | – | 0.38 | (0.30 to 0.46) |
| Crystallised ability | – | – | – | – | 0.45 | (0.37 to 0.52) | 0.41 | (0.25 to 0.57) |
| Adjusted R2 | 0.50 | 0.61 | 0.58 | 0.62 | ||||
| REALM score | ||||||||
| Age (years) | ||||||||
| 55–59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 60–64 | −0.04 | (−0.18 to 0.10) | 0.03 | (−0.11 to 0.16) | −0.04 | (−0.15 to 0.07) | −0.06 | (−0.17 to 0.06) |
| 65–69 | −0.09 | (−0.26 to 0.07) | −0.01 | (−0.17 to 0.15) | −0.11 | (−0.24 to 0.03) | −0.13 | (−0.26 to 0.002) |
| 70–74 | −0.04 | (−0.21 to 0.13) | 0.14 | (−0.03 to 0.31) | −0.02 | (−0.16 to 0.11) | −0.07 | (−0.22 to 0.07) |
| Fluid ability | – | – | 0.34 | (0.26 to 0.43) | – | – | −0.10 | (−0.18 to −0.12) |
| Crystallised ability | – | – | – | – | 0.79 | (0.71 to 0.86) | 0.85 | (0.76 to 0.94) |
| Adjusted R2 | 0.36 | 0.42 | 0.59 | 0.60 | ||||
All models adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status and number of chronic conditions.
All health literacy and cognitive ability scores are standardised.
CA, crystallised ability; FA, fluid ability; HL, health literacy; NVS, Newest Vital Sign; REALM, Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine; TOFHLA, Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults.