301511
Food Insecurity and Cardiovascular Disease in the US Population
Food insecurity has become a major public health concern. There are no studies, to our knowledge, that have examined whether food insecurity impacts cardiovascular events in the US population.
METHODS
Data on 6,144 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) participants enrolled in 2009-2010, 20 years and older were examined to detect the association between food insecurity and cardiovascular events (CVD) using logistic regression. Also, Cox regression was used to exam the association between CVD related mortality and food insecurity among 13618 participants enrolled in 1999-2004 and hazard Ratios (HR) were reported. Both analyses were adjusted for demographics, stroke risk factors, and diet.
RESULTS
Food insecurity was significantly associated with self-reported stroke or CVD after adjusting for age, gender and race (OR 1.7, 95% CI:1.2– 2.4). With additional adjustment for income, the association was reduced (OR 1.3, 95% CI:0.97-1.8). The hazard of CVD related mortality associated with food insecurity was 2.38 (95% CI:1.3-4.3) in the crude model and 1.95 (95% CI:1.0-3.8) after adjusting for age, gender and race. With further adjustment for income, the HR was reduced and no longer statistically significant.
DISCUSSION
Our study suggests that the relationships between food insecurity and CVD events, and between food insecurity and CVD mortality, are primarily accounted for by income. Further studies are needed to identify whether food insecurity is a mediator of the association between poverty and cardiovascular disease.
Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and preventionEpidemiology
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe the association of food insecurity and cardiovascular disease. Evaluate food insecurity in a national representative sample. Discuss the possible interaction between food insecurity and poverty as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Keyword(s): Food Security, Heart Disease
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Professor of Epidemiology and focus on health disparities in stroke. I have worked with other authors on this project testing the association of food insecurity and cardiovascular disease.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.