A cross-sectional study of the effect of health literacy on diabetes prevention and control among elderly individuals with prediabetes in rural China

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to examine the effect of health literacy on diabetes prevention and control and risk factors for low diabetes health literacy among elderly individuals with prediabetes in rural areas in China. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPATES: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among elderly individuals in rural communities in Yiyang City in China. Multi-staged cluster random sampling was used to select 42 areas and 434 individuals with prediabetes who were interviewed using a questionnaire on diabetes health literacy in China. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked for general information (age, gender, marital status, history of hyperglycaemia, family history of diabetes mellitus, presence of other diseases and level of education). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for poor health literacy concerning diabetes prevention and control among elderly subjects with prediabetes. RESULTS: The median health literacy score for diabetes prevention and prediabetes control was 10.0 (IQR 7.0–13.0). The level of diabetes health literacy among men was lower than among women (OR 2.831, 95% CI 1.818 to 4.408), and lower among respondents with 1–6 years of education than among those with 6 years or more of education (OR 14.274, 95% CI 5.927 to 34.375). Those with less than 1 year of education had the lowest literacy (OR 31.148, 95% CI 11.661 to 83.204). The level of diabetes health literacy among elderly individuals with prediabetes but no history of hyperglycaemia was lower than among those with a history of hyperglycaemia (OR 2.676, 95% CI 1.101 to 6.504). CONCLUSIONS: Health literacy concerning diabetes prevention and control among elderly individuals with prediabetes was very low in rural China. Appropriate health education for elderly individuals with low educational levels should be incorporated into diabetes prevention efforts. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR-IOR-15007033; Results.