- Many liver transplant recipients have reduced health literacy: 35.7% marginal, 12.6% low; lower than general population but higher than adults with cirrhosis.
- Each 3-point BHLS increase associated with 3.22-point higher physical and 2.85-point higher mental PROMIS T-scores after multivariable adjustment.
- Health literacy is modifiable and should be assessed in post-transplant care to improve patient-reported physical and mental health.
Liver Transpl. 2026 Sep 18. doi: 10.1097/LVT.0000000000001001. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Current liver transplantation (LT) guidelines recognize perceived health-related quality of life as an important outcome of long-term care, yet it remains unclear whether post-transplantation health literacy plays a role in patient-reported physical and mental health. We conducted a large-scale cross-sectional analysis using data from the U.S. All of Us Research Program of adults with documented LT before completing the “Overall Health” survey (n=1,042). Health literacy was assessed with the 3-item Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS; range, 3-15), and physical and mental health with PROMIS Global Health T-scores. Multivariable linear regression adjusted for age, sex at birth, race and ethnicity, and education. Associations were compared with those in adults with cirrhosis without LT (n=5,290) and the general All of Us comparator population. Among 747,029 participants, 1,042 LT recipients had evaluable BHLS scores. Marginal health literacy (BHLS ≤12) was present in 372 recipients (35.7%), including 131 (12.6%) with low health literacy (BHLS ≤9). LT patients displayed a lower health literacy compared to the general population (mean BHLS 12.8 vs. 13.4), but higher than adults with cirrhosis (12.4; all p<0.001). Each 3-point BHLS score increase associated with 3.22-point higher Physical Health (95% CI, 2.52-3.92) and 2.85-point higher Mental Health T-scores (95% CI, 2.09-3.60) after adjustment (both p<0.001). The strength of the association did not differ significantly between recipients and either comparator group. Transplant recipients displayed reduced health literacy, and post-transplant health literacy was strongly associated with better patient-reported physical and mental health. These findings identify health literacy as a modifiable dimension of long-term transplant survivorship and support its assessment in post-transplant care.
PMID:42758892 | DOI:10.1097/LVT.0000000000001001
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