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Limited literacy in older people and disparities in health and healthcare access
Sudore RL, Mehta KM, Simonsick EM, Harris TB, Newman AB, Satterfield S, Rosano C, Rosano C et al.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2006-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To determine the relationship between health literacy, demographics, and access to health care. Design Cross-sectional study, Health, Aging and Body Composition data (1999/2000). Setting Memphis, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Participants Two thousand five hundred twelve black and white community-dwelling older people who were well functioning at baseline (without functional difficulties or dementia). Measurements Participants' health literacy was assessed using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine. Scores were categorized into 0 to sixth-, seventh- to eighth-, and ninth-grade and higher reading levels (limited health literacy defined as Results Participants' mean age was 75.6, 52% were female, 38% were black, and 24% had limited health literacy. After adjusting for sociodemographics, associations remained between limited health literacy and being male, being black, and having low income and education, diabetes mellitus, depressive symptoms, and fair/poor self-rated health (P Conclusion Limited health literacy was prevalent and was associated with low socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and poor access to health care, suggesting that it may be an independent risk factor for health disparities in older people.
Key findings
- Scores were categorized into 0 to sixth-, seventh- to eighth-, and ninth-grade and higher reading levels (limited health literacy defined as Results Participants' mean age was 75.6, 52% were female, 38% were black, and 24% had limited health literacy.
- After adjusting for sociodemographics, associations remained between limited health literacy and being male, being black, and having low income and education, diabetes mellitus, depressive symptoms, and fair/poor self-rated health (P<.02).
Why it matters
This cross-sectional study found that limited health literacy was common among older people and was linked to low socioeconomic status, other health conditions, and poor access to health care. It did not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 51 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 53 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 429 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.5 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 29.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 52 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16696742) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 51 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 51 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 53 out of 100. |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00691.x
- PubMed: 16696742
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sudore, R. L., Mehta, K. M., Simonsick, E. M., Harris, T. B., Newman, A. B., Satterfield, S., et al. (2006). Limited literacy in older people and disparities in health and healthcare access. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00691.x
Vancouver
Sudore RL, Mehta KM, Simonsick EM, Harris TB, Newman AB, Satterfield S, et al. Limited literacy in older people and disparities in health and healthcare access. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2006. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00691.x. PMID: 16696742.
BibTeX
@article{sudore2006-16696742,
author = {Sudore, R. L. and Mehta, K. M. and Simonsick, E. M. and Harris, T. B. and Newman, A. B. and Satterfield, S. and Rosano, C. and others},
title = {{Limited literacy in older people and disparities in health and healthcare access}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00691.x},
pmid = {16696742},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00691.x}
}
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