Vieri Lastrucci|Chiara Lorini|Saverio Caini|Guglielmo Bonaccorsi
Health literacy as a mediator of the relationship between socioeconomic status and health: A cross-sectional study in a population-based sample in Florence
University of Florence|University of Florence|Piedmont Reference Center for Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention|University of Florence
health literacyhl recently proposed potential mediator pathway socioeconomic statusses affects health however empirical research investigating contribution hl relationship remains scarce study investigated whether functional hl mediates association ses selfreported healthsrh adult populationbased samplethe study adopted crosssectional design education level financial status used measures ses functional hl assessed newest vital sign moderated mediation analyses conducted using ses variables independent variables srh dependent variable functional hl mediator variable furthermore age sex chronic diseases tested moderators effect mediated functional hl452 subjects completed study 588 female mean age 5325117 results showed functional hl mediates average 185 association education srh p 002 129 p 001 association financial status srh furthermore proportion effect mediated functional hl found higher lower socioeconomic classes ses variables considered significant moderation effects age sex chronic diseases observed ses variablesfindings suggest functional hl may serve pathway ses affects health status especially lower ses groups hl may valuable actionable intermediate target addressing health inequalities however studies needed better define mediating role hl across socioeconomic classes