Health Literacy and Difference in Current Wealth Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Numerous studies suggest that health literacy improves health outcomes at older ages. But how, and to what extent, health literacy contributes to improving financial outcomes has not been examined. This study proposed a conceptual framework to explain the mechanisms between health literacy and current wealth. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) are used to estimate proposed direct and indirect effects between health literacy and current wealth. We found that, for the most part, health literacy is directly associated with wealth rather than indirectly through mediating variables. Alternatively, out of all indirect effects investigated in the model, health literacy affects wealth mainly through the path of chronic condition, work limitation, and income.