Association Between Nutrition Literacy and Quality of Life in Adults With Chronic Diseases in Bengbu China.

CONTEXT

Nutrition literacy (NL) reflects an individual's ability to make correct nutritional decisions, and nutrition is a factor influencing patients' quality of life (QOL).

OBJECTIVES

To assess the association between NL and QOL in adults with chronic diseases.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese residents beginning in May 2023. Investigators, who were trained to follow standardized procedures, conducted individual, face-to-face interviews.

SETTING

Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1607 Chinese residents aged 18 and over.

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES

A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey was used to assess QOL and the short-form NL measurement tool to measure the NL. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between NL and QOL.

RESULTS

Of the 1607 participants, compared to those in the first quartile of NL, individuals in the 4th quartile, characterized by higher NL, reported a significantly higher QOL, including physical component summary and mental component summary. For dimensions, nutrition knowledge, understanding, interactive, and critical skills were associated with QOL. Upon stratification, this association was evident exclusively in individuals with low monthly incomes, moderate to high physical activity levels, those living with others and 1 to 3 diseases. Additionally, there's synergistic association between NL and the number of diseases with QOL.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings underscore that adequate NL is positively associated with better QOL in populations with chronic diseases, and the relationship varied by income, physical activity, living arrangements, and the number of diseases. Focusing on the NL of populations with chronic diseases might help provide a basis for dietary nutrition management and intervention to improve QOL in patients with chronic diseases.