Nutrition labels are helpful for chronic disease management in patients requiring balanced nutritional intake. This study aimed to investigate the association between the use of nutrition labels and chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia) by using the 2008-2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. A total of 10,695 individuals aged 20 and over was included in the analysis. Using multiple logistic regressions, there was no difference in nutrition label use between the chronic disease and normal groups (men with hypertension OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.75-1.27; women with hypertension OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.67-1.03; men with diabetes OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.45-1.08; women with diabetes OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.84-1.53; men with hyperlipidemia OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.59-1.23; women with hyperlipidemia OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.91-1.44). In hyperlipidemia patients, awareness (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.03-2.35) and control (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 2.32-3.63) of disease were related to nutrition label use; however, no significant associations were found for the hypertension and diabetes mellitus patients. Considering the importance of dietary habits in the management of chronic diseases, an improvement in nutrition label use by patients with these diseases is required.
Keywords: Chronic Disease; Nutrition Labeling.