Table 2 shows the mean readability scores. The articles
from the American Lung Association had the lowest reading
level as analyzed by all tools. A low score within the
range of 6th to 9th grade is desirable and recommended by
the USDHHS. Table 3 categorizes the articles into the
USDHHS difficulty levels. Table 4 shows the subanalysis
of the readability scores, performed after separating the
articles into the 5 domains. The highest grade level of any
article was 22 (ie, 6 years schooling beyond college graduation),
which was found with Gunning FOG. The lowest
score was 5th grade, also found with Gunning FOG.
The articles on diagnosis had the highest mean readability
score and were all in the USDHHS “difficult” category.
The general-information articles had the lowest mean
readability score, but were nevertheless in the USDHHS
“difficult” category. Although the mean scores differed,
there was a strong correlation between the readability scores
from each assessment tool (r 0.72, P .001).