It is very important to estimate the prevalence of inadequate health literacy and determine whether or not health literacy level differences predict the physical and mental health status of older adults. A cluster sampling method was selected. A total of 1396 older adults were interviewed. Three instruments were included: the Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Questionnaire, Short Form 36, and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Scale. The health literacy scores were very low (71.74 ± 28.35). The physical and mental health scores were all moderate. The ADLs was ⩾22, which suggests that the ADLs of older adults were poor. The major influencing factors of physical health include health literacy, ADL, alcohol consumption, household income, marital status, and former occupation. The major factors influencing mental health included ADL, former occupation, age, and smoking. Health literacy was associated with physical health, but was not associated with mental health. Improving health literacy could increase health management and health status of older adults.
Keywords: activities of daily living; health literacy; mental health; nursing homes; physical health.