Association of Health Literacy and Medication Adherence with Quality of Life in COPD Patients.

Objective: To determine the association between health literacy, adherence to treatment with quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted among adults with COPD between February and March 2023. Sociodemographic characteristics, EuroQol Five-Dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), Health Literacy Scale, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), and COPD assessment test (CAT) were assessed.

Results: A total of 425 patients with COPD were included. Better treatment adherence was positively correlated with better quality of life (p<0.001). There was a negative correlation between the quality of life and age (p<0.001; r=-0.174), COPD duration (p<0.001; r=-0.261), pack-years smoking history (p=0.002; r=- 0.162), and CAT score (p<0.001; r=-0.765). There was a positive correlation between quality of life and body mass index (p=0.049; r=0.096), and health literacy scores (p<0.001; r=0.473). Increased health literacy scores were also significantly related to better quality of life (p=0.004).

Conclusion: Treatment adherence and health literacy significantly influenced HRQoL, highlighting the need for interventions focused on enhancing health literacy and adherence in COPD management.