Benefits of health knowledge

A study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine claims that: “Inadequate health literacy is associated with less knowledge of chronic disease and worse self-management skills for patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma and heart failure.”

The study participants with low health literacy had a significantly higher risk of dying than those with adequate health literacy. Low levels of health knowledge was strongly correlated with the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Perhaps those who are more concerned with their own wellness are more interested in learning about health science compared to those who are not. I think in this case, cause and effect is a circular relationship. Subjects who actively sought out knowledge were those people who took better care of themselves to begin with, and vice versa. The health benefits of self-efficacy, manifested in survival curves. The more we know, the more empowered we are — the better we can take care of our own health destiny