title: Poorer Financial and Health Literacy Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Literacy is an important determinant of financial and health outcomes in old age, and cognitive decline has been linked with lower literacy. We tested the hypothesis that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with poorer financial and health literacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 730) from the Rush Memory and Aging Project were given a clinical evaluation and an assessment of total, financial, and health literacy. Regression was used to examine whether MCI was associated with lower literacy. In secondary analyses, we investigated the association of particular cognitive systems with literacy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MCI was associated with lower total, financial, and health literacy. An interaction was observed such that higher education reduced the effect of MCI on total and financial literacy. Multiple cognitive systems were associated with literacy in participants with MCI, and semantic memory accounted for the most variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Persons with MCI exhibit poorer financial and health literacy, and education mitigates this effect.
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA VA Long Beach Healthcare System, CA, USA Duke_Han@rush.edu.
authors.forename: S Duke
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: cognition; education; literacy; mild cognitive impairment