Predictors of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health Nutr
; 24(12): 3929-3936, 2021 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1049949
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To examine associations between sociodemographic and mental health characteristics with household risk for food insecurity during the COVID-19 outbreak.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional online survey analysed using univariable tests and a multivariable logistic regression model.SETTING:
The United States during the week of 30 March 2020.PARTICIPANTS:
A convenience sample of 1965 American adults using Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. Participants reporting household food insecurity prior to the pandemic were excluded from analyses.RESULTS:
One thousand two hundred and fifty participants reported household food security before the COVID-19 outbreak. Among this subset, 41 % were identified as at risk for food insecurity after COVID-19, 55 % were women and 73 % were white. On a multivariable analysis, race, income, relationship status, living situation, anxiety and depression were significantly associated with an incident risk for food insecurity. Black, Asian and Hispanic/Latino respondents, respondents with an annual income <$100 000 and those living with children or others were significantly more likely to be newly at risk for food insecurity. Individuals at risk for food insecurity were 2·60 (95 % CI 1·91, 3·55) times more likely to screen positively for anxiety and 1·71 (95 % CI 1·21, 2·42) times more likely to screen positively for depression.CONCLUSIONS:
An increased risk for food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic is common, and certain populations are particularly vulnerable. There are strong associations between being at risk for food insecurity and anxiety/depression. Interventions to increase access to healthful foods, especially among minority and low-income individuals, and ease the socioemotional effects of the outbreak are crucial to relieving the economic stress of this pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
Food Insecurity
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Public Health Nutr
Journal subject:
Nutritional Sciences
/
Public Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S1368980021000355
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