Digital literacy, city digital exclusion and exercise in middle-aged and older Chinese adults
In CHARLS data, higher individual digital literacy was associated with more exercise participation among middle-aged and older adults in China, and area-level digital exclusion weakened this association. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
The analytic sample included 13,085 person-wave observations from 9,201 respondents across 111 cities in three CHARLS waves. [1]
Higher individual digital literacy was associated with greater odds of exercise participation (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.022–1.208). [1]
Area-level digital exclusion weakened the positive association between individual digital literacy and exercise participation. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Observational cohort study using three waves of CHARLS data with mixed-effects logistic regression.
- Population / context
- Middle-aged and older adults in China (CHARLS respondents, 2013–2018).
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Original publication
- October 5, 2026
Digital literacy and exercise in CHARLS waves
The study asked how individual digital literacy and area-level digital exclusion together relate to exercise participation among middle-aged and older adults in China. Data came from three CHARLS waves (2013, 2015, 2018), linked to city-year indicators from the China Statistical Yearbook. The sample covered 13,085 person-wave observations from 9,201 respondents in 111 cities. Exercise participation was a yes/no measure of exercise-oriented physical activity. Individual digital literacy was a composite index of digital access, internet use, device resources and digital behaviors.
Supporting source [1]
Exercise rose over waves; literacy linked to higher odds
37.7% of observations reported exercise participation, rising from 27.5% in 2013 to 40.3% in 2018. In fully adjusted mixed-effects logistic regression models, higher individual digital literacy was associated with greater odds of exercise participation (odds ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 1.022–1.208). Area-level digital exclusion was measured with a reverse-coded city-year indicator. The models also tested a cross-level interaction between individual digital literacy and area-level digital exclusion.
Supporting source [1]
Area exclusion weakened the literacy–exercise association
The authors conclude that individual digital literacy was positively associated with exercise participation, whereas area-level digital exclusion weakened this association. They suggest policies for healthy aging should address both older adults' digital literacy and the broader digital exclusion where they live. These are associations from observational cohort data, not evidence that digital literacy causes exercise. The abstract does not report effect estimates for the interaction or for area-level digital exclusion alone.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. This is observational cohort data, so the reported associations do not establish causation. The abstract gives no effect estimates for the interaction or for area-level digital exclusion alone.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Hao X, Duan M, Zhu C, Yu C. · europepmc.org · October 5, 2026