Alfabetización en salud en pacientes con diabetes tipo 2: un estudio transversal con el cuestionario HLS-EU-Q47

espanolObjetivo Determinar el grado de alfabetizacion en salud de pacientes diabeticos de Ourense, de 50 a 75 anos de edad, y su relacion con la concentracion de hemoglobina glicada y el riesgo cardiovascular. Materiales y metodos Estudio transversal mediante cuestionario autocumplimentado. A partir de muestreo polietapico fueron incluidos aleatorizadamente pacientes diabeticos de tipo 2 pertenecientes a cupos urbanos de la ciudad de Ourense. Se analizo a un total de 103 pacientes. Se determinaron: grado de alfabetizacion en salud utilizando el cuestionario HLS-EU-Q47, ultimo valor de hemoglobina glicada y el riesgo cardiovascular se calculo con el algoritmo UKPDS. Edad, sexo, nivel educativo, grado de apoyo social, clase social y comorbilidad se utilizaron como covariables. Resultados El 81,5% (84) tenia un nivel de alfabetizacion en salud inconveniente (el 29,1% nivel inadecuado y el 52,4% nivel problematico). Se observo asociacion entre mayores grados de alfabetizacion en salud y niveles mas altos de educacion (p Conclusiones El grado de alfabetizacion en salud de la poblacion analizada fue insuficiente y su incremento podria suponer mejores resultados clinicos en el tratamiento de los pacientes diabeticos. EnglishObjective The aim of this study was to determine the level of health literacy of diabetic patients aged 50 to 75 years, from Ourense, Spain, as well as its relationship with the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration and cardiovascular risk of the patient. Material and methods Cross-sectional study using a self-completed questionnaire. From a multi-stage sampling, urban, type 2 diabetic patients were randomly included. The level of health literacy, using the HLS-EU-Q47 questionnaire, the last concentration of HbA1c, and both total and fatal cardiovascular risk at 10 year follow-up, measured using the UKPDS (U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study) algorithm, were determined. The age, gender, level of education, level of social support, social class, and comorbidities were used as covariates. Results A total of 103 patients were analysed. Out of all the patients, 81.5% (84) had an unsuitable health literacy level (29.1% had an inadequate level and 52.4% had a problematic level). A clear association was seen between a higher level of health literacy and higher levels of education. Moreover, the level of health literacy was seen to be inversely related to the level of control of the patients’ diabetes measured on the basis of their HbA1c (P=.03) concentration. However, no such association was found with the cardiovascular risk (P=.3). Conclusions The results of the present study show that the level of literacy of the analysed population was insufficient, and that its improvement could result in a better outcome in the treatment of diabetic patients.