Internet use, social engagement and health literacy decline during ageing in a longitudinal cohort of older English adults

نویسندگان

  • Lindsay C Kobayashi
  • Jane Wardle
  • Christian von Wagner
چکیده

BACKGROUND Health literacy skills tend to decline during ageing, which is often attributed to age-related cognitive decline. Whether health literacy skills may be influenced by technological and social factors during ageing is unknown. METHODS We investigated whether internet use and social engagement protect against health literacy decline during ageing, independent of cognitive decline. We used prospective data from 4368 men and women aged ≥52 years in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing from 2004 to 2011. Health literacy was measured at baseline (2004-2005) and at follow-up (2010-2011) using a reading comprehension test of a fictitious medicine label. The influences of consistent internet use and engagement in each of the civic, leisure and cultural activities on health literacy decline over the follow-up were estimated. RESULTS After adjusting for cognitive decline and other covariates, consistent internet use (1379/4368; 32%) was protectively associated with health literacy decline (OR=0.77; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.99), as was consistent engagement in cultural activities (1715/4368; 39%; OR=0.73; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.93). As the number of activities engaged in increased, the likelihood of health literacy decline steadily decreased (ptrend<0.0001), with OR=0.51 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.79) for engaging in all four of the internet use and civic, leisure and cultural activities versus none. CONCLUSIONS Internet use and social engagement, particularly in cultural activities (eg, attending the cinema, art galleries, museums and the theatre), may help older adults to maintain health literacy during ageing. Support for older adults to maintain socially engaged lives and to access the internet should help promote the maintenance of functional literacy skills during ageing.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between low functional health literacy (ability to read and understand basic health related information) and mortality in older adults. DESIGN Population based longitudinal cohort study based on a stratified random sample of households. SETTING England. PARTICIPANTS 7857 adults aged 52 or more who participated in the second wave (2004-5) of the Eng...

متن کامل

Anthropometric Changes Over Five Years in Older Adults and its Association with Demographic Characteristics, Muscle Strength and Comorbid Disorders: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study

 Background and purpose: Anthropometric measures are of great importance in evaluating older adult health. This study was carried out to examine five-year changes in anthropometric indices of older adults and its association with demographic characteristics, muscle strength, and comorbid disorders. Materials and methods: This cohort study was conducted during 2011-2016 in people aged 60 years ...

متن کامل

English Longitudinal Study of Aging: can Internet/E-mail use reduce cognitive decline?

BACKGROUND Cognitive decline is a major risk factor for disability, dementia, and death. The use of Internet/E-mail, also known as digital literacy, might decrease dementia incidence among the older population. The aim was to investigate whether digital literacy might be associated with decreased cognitive decline in older adulthood. METHODS Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging c...

متن کامل

A life course approach to health literacy: the role of gender, educational attainment and lifetime cognitive capability

Objective social inequalities in health are believed to arise in part because individuals make use of social and economic resources in order to improve survival. In recent years, health literacy has received increased attention as a factor that can help explain differences in health outcomes. However, examination of life course predictors of health literacy has been limited. Methods life cour...

متن کامل

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Health Literacy in Iranian Older Adults

Objectives: Health Literacy is the capacity of individuals to obtain, interpret, and understand health information for appropriate decision making. Elderly self-care is a supportive strategy in many diseases that requires a high level of health literacy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of health literacy of Iranian elderly people based on scientific evidence. Methods & Materia...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 69  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2015