Differences in food insecurity by disability and disability type

Background: Food insecurity is characterized by having difficulty acquiring nutritious foods to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. In 2010, 14.5% of US households had low or very low food security. Although differences in food security have been examined by socio-demographic factors, little is known about the prevalence of food insecurity among people with disabilities, including type of disability. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2007-8 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to determine prevalence of food insecurity among adults 20 years of age or older (n=5935) with a disability, stratifying by functional type of disability. Results: Overall, 22.2% of adults with a disability were found to have low or very low food security, compared with 8.7% of adults without a disability. Focusing on very low food security, we found the highest prevalence among adults with a cognitive limitation (12.7%), followed by adults with a visual limitation (12.2%), physical limitation (9.7%) and hearing limitation (9.1%). By race and ethnicity, it was highest among Hispanic (11.8%) and non-Hispanic black (10.8%) adults with a disability. Among those with family incomes <100% of the federal poverty level, 16.6% of adults with a disability had very low food security compared with 7.6% of adults without a disability. Conclusion: Adults with a disability are more likely to be food insecure than adults without a disability, and this disparity was consistent across all types of disability. Programs to alleviate food insecurity can help reduce this disparity by being inclusive of people with a disability.