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- Title
Health literacy and body mass index: a population-based study in a South-Eastern European country.
- Authors
Toçi, Ervin; Burazeri, Genc; Kamberi, Haxhi; Toçi, Dorina; Roshi, Enver; Jerliu, Naim; Bregu, Arjan; Brand, Helmut
- Abstract
Background The relationship of health literacy (HL) with objective measures including anthropometric measurements remains an under-researched topic to date. Objective To assess the association between body mass index (BMI) and HL among Albanian adults. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tirana, Albania, in 2012–2014 including a population-based sample of 1154 individuals aged ≥18 years. HL was assessed by the use of HLS-EU-Q instrument. Anthropometrics included measurement of weight and height based on which BMI was calculated. Information on socio-demographic characteristics was also collected. Logistic regression was employed to assess the independent association of BMI and HL controlling all socio-demographic factors. Results One-fifth of the participants reported an inadequate HL level, whereas almost one-third (31%) reported an excellent HL level. About 41% of study participants were overweight and further 22% were obese. In multivariate analysis, there was evidence of a strong and significant association between BMI and HL: the odds of overweight/obesity were two times higher (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.3–3.1) among inadequate HL individuals compared with excellent HL participants. Conclusion Our findings, pertinent to a transitional country in the South East Europe, point to a strong, consistent and highly significant association between BMI and HL, irrespective of a wide array of socio-demographic characteristics.
- Subjects
ALBANIA; STATURE; OBESITY; EAST Europeans; BODY weight; CONFIDENCE intervals; CROSS-sectional method; ANTHROPOMETRY; MULTIVARIATE analysis; INTERVIEWING; HEALTH literacy; SOCIOECONOMIC factors; QUESTIONNAIRES; CHI-squared test; BODY mass index; LOGISTIC regression analysis; ODDS ratio; STATISTICAL sampling; DATA analysis software
- Publication
Journal of Public Health, 2021, Vol 43, Issue 1, p123
- ISSN
1741-3842
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/pubmed/fdz103