Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) strongly affects patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mostly in the advanced stages of CKD. Health literacy (HL) may affect this association, in particular for some aspects of HRQoL. The aim of this study is to compare the profiles of HRQoL in dialyzed patients with varying HL. Methods: We obtained data on HL using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and on HRQoL using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life - Short Form (KDQoL-SF 1.3) in a multicentre cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics in Slovakia (n = 542; mean age = 63.6 years; males: 60.7%). We compared HRQoL for three HL groups using ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Patients with low HL reported worse HRQoL than patients with moderate and high HL. The greatest differences between HL groups were found in the scales Effect of kidney disease, Cognitive function, Quality of social interaction, Social support, Dialysis staff encouragement, Patient satisfaction, Physical functioning, Pain, Emotional well-being and Social function. p-values in all cases were <0.001. Conclusion: Patients with low HL have a worse HRQoL in several domains than patients with a higher HL. Increasing HL capacities and better supporting patients with low HL should thus be given priority to support their HRQoL and at least maintain its level.

Department of Community and Occupational Medicine University Medical Center Groningen Groningen Netherlands

Department of Health Psychology and Research Methodology Faculty of Medicine Pavol Jozef Safarik University Kosice Slovakia

FMC Dialysis Services Slovakia Kosice Slovakia

Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health Faculty of Medicine Pavol Jozef Safarik University Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Mathematics Faculty of Science Pavol Jozef Safarik University Kosice Slovakia

Olomouc University Social Health Institute Palacky University Olomouc Czech Republic

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Health Literacy and Change in Health-Related Quality of Life in Dialysed Patients