Association between health literacy and successful aging among older Korean adults

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of information and communication technology, health-related information has become increasingly accessible, making health literacy-the ability to access, understand, and use health information-more important than ever. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and successful aging in a Korean population. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 70,626 participants in the 2021 Korean Community Health Survey. Verbal and written health literacy were assessed. Successful aging was operationalized using five criteria capturing physical, cognitive, social, and psychological dimensions: no disability, high cognitive function, no depressive symptoms, active social engagement, and psychological well-being. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression was used to examine association between health literacy and successful aging. Compared with participants with high verbal health literacy, those with low verbal health literacy had significantly lower odds of successful aging (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.68-0.76). Compared with participants with high written health literacy, those with low written literacy (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.73-0.83) and those uninterested in written health information had lower odds of successful aging (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.65-0.74). Low health literacy was significantly associated with lower odds of successful aging. These findings underscore the importance of promoting health literacy as a potential target for intervention to support successful aging and to inform future health policies and intervention efforts.