Relationship between literacy skills and self-reported health in the Nordic countries.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the association between literacy skills and self-reported health among Danish ( n = 7284), Finnish ( n = 5454), Norwegian ( n = 4942) and Swedish ( n = 4555) participants aged 16-65 years.


METHODS
Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between literacy skills and self-reported health after adjusting for sex, age and educational level.


RESULTS
Nordic participants aged 16-65 years with literacy skills at the lowest level reported sub-optimal health more often (28-37%) than those with literacy skills at the highest level (7-9%). After adjusting for sex, age and educational level, the likelihood of reporting sub-optimal health was 1.99-3.24 times as high for those with literacy skills at the lowest level as for those with literacy skills at the highest level.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that poor literacy skills increase the likelihood of experiencing poor health in the Nordic countries, even after controlling for educational level.
University of Stavanger, Norway.
Kjersti
K
Lundetræ
University of Stavanger, Norway.
Egil
E
Gabrielsen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D055815:Young Adult
Literacy skills; Nordic countries; PIAAC; age; educational level; health literacy; self-reported health; sex
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