Association between health literacy and dysphagia in the community-dwelling older population: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Dysphagia, or swallowing disorders, has become a growing concern due to the aging population, and health literacy plays a crucial role in active aging. However, the relationship between them remains unclear. AIMS: To investigate the association between health literacy and dysphagia among community-dwelling older adults in China. METHODS: A survey was conducted on 4462 older adults aged 65 and above in a community in Yiwu City, China, from May 2021 to January 2022. Swallowing problems were assessed using a 30 ml water swallowing test (WST) and the Eating Assessment Tool-10 questionnaire (EAT-10). The participants' health literacy was evaluated using the Chinese Health Literacy Scale (CHLS). Logistic regression and t tests were employed to measure the association between them. RESULTS: The prevalence of dysphagia was 5.70% and 7.85% as determined by EAT-10 and 30 ml-WST, respectively. The health literacy level of community-dwelling older adults was 24.4 ± 4.93 (9–45). Participants with dysphagia exhibited lower levels of health literacy (p < 0.05). The logistic regression model demonstrated an inverse association between health literacy and dysphagia (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.91–0.96 for EAT-10, and OR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.92–0.95 for WST). Moreover, this association remained significant even after adjusting for covariates. DISCUSSION: Older adults with dysphagia have lower levels of health literacy, particularly in terms of their ability to seek medical advice, acquire and evaluate medical information, and access social support resources. CONCLUSIONS: Health literacy is associated with dysphagia among community-dwelling older adults. Effective interventions should be implemented to provide support in terms of both medical services and social support for this population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40520-023-02499-4.