Table 2.
Health literacy specific characteristics among women (N = 1036)
| Mean (± SD) or N (%) | P a | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Low health literacy (<14) (N = 437) | High health literacy (≥14) (N = 599) | ||
| Age (years) | 49.2 (9.7) | 49.2 (9.5) | |
| Anthropometric measurements | |||
| Height (cm) | 157.4 (6.3) | 157.4 (5.8) | |
| Body weight (kg) | 55.5 (9.8) | 55.1 (9.3) | |
| Body mass index (BMI) | 22.4 (3.9) | 22.3 (3.7) | |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 80.2 (9.8) | 80.1 (9.3) | |
| Atherosclerotic complications | |||
| Cardiovascular disease (yes) | 3 (0.7) | 9 (1.5) | |
| Cerebrovascular disease (yes) | 5 (1.1) | 4 (0.7) | |
| Hypertension-related factors | |||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 124.7 (18.4) | 124.9 (18.8) | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 76.1 (11.1) | 76.0 (11.4) | |
| Antihypertensive drug use (yes) | 58 (13.3) | 69 (11.5) | |
| Lipid-related items | |||
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) | 71.3 (17.5) | 70.9 (16.2) | |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) | 122.4 (32.0) | 123.7 (31.4) | |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 92.7 (53.6) | 92.4 (57.3) | |
| Antidyslipidemic drug use (yes) | 42 (9.6) | 52 (8.7) | |
| Diabetes-related items | |||
| Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL) | 94.3 (17.3) | 93.8 (17.0) | |
| Antidiabetic drug use (yes) | 8 (1.8) | 10 (1.7) | |
| Metabolic syndrome (yes) | 53 (12.5) | 64 (11.0) | |
| Waist circumference (≥80 cm) | 216 (50.9) | 285 (49.0) | |
| Raised triglyceride (≥150 mg/dL) | 50 (11.4) | 60 (10.0) | |
| Reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol (≤40 mg/dL) | 29 (6.6) | 43 (7.2) | |
| Raised blood pressure (systolic ≥130 mmHg or diastolic ≥85 mmHg) | 204 (46.7) | 252 (42.1) | |
| Raised fasting plasma glucose (≥110 mg/dL) | 33 (7.6) | 34 (5.7) | |
| Healthy lifestyle characteristics | |||
| Alcohol consumption (non-everyday drinker) | 361 (82.6) | 509 (85.0) | |
| Smoking behavior (non-current smoker) | 371 (84.9) | 516 (86.1) | |
| Exercise frequency (2 times or more per week) | 32 (7.3) | 58 (9.7) | |
| Body mass index (18.5–24.9) | 307 (70.3) | 406 (67.8) | |
| Sleep hours (6–9) | 234 (53.5) | 323 (53.9) | |
| Breakfast (every morning) | 365 (83.5) | 512 (85.5) | |
| Snack between meals (no) | 329 (75.3) | 446 (74.5) | |
| Total number of healthy lifestyle items | 4.6 (1.2) | 4.6 (1.2) | |
| Proportion of participants with 6 or 7 total number of healthy lifestyle items | 97 (22.2) | 148 (24.7) | |
| Health literacy | |||
| Seeking information from various sources | 3.5 (0.9) | 4.2 (0.6) | ** |
| Extracting relevant information | 3.1 (0.9) | 4.1 (0.5) | ** |
| Understanding and communicating the information | 2.7 (0.7) | 3.9 (0.5) | ** |
| Considering the credibility of the information | 2.6 (0.7) | 3.7 (0.6) | ** |
| Making decisions based on the information | 2.8 (0.7) | 3.8 (0.6) | ** |
| Total scale score | 11.2 (2.0) | 15.5 (1.3) | ** |
a ** P < 0.01, * P < 0.05