Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Functional Limitations in Older Adults from 2005–2014 NHANES

Abstract

Background: Food insecurity refers to the physical, social, and economic inability to access and secure sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Food insecurity has been found to be associated with poor health status, obesity, and chronic disease. To date, a relationship between food insecurity and functional limitations has not been described in of older adults.

Methods: We examined 9309 adults ≥60 years old from the 2005–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Food security was categorized as full, marginal, low, and very low. Functional limitations were assessed as having difficulty in physical, basic or instrumental activities of daily living.

Results: Of adults ≥60 years old (mean age: 70.5 ± 0.08, 51% female), the prevalence of full, marginal, low, or very low food insecurity was 7572 (81%), 717 (7%), 667 (8%), and 353 (4%), respectively. The prevalence of any functional limitations was 5895 (66.3%). The adjusted odds (OR [95%CI]) of having any functional limitation in marginal, low, and very low food security levels compared to full food security are: 1.08 [1.02–1.13], 1.16 [1.10–1.22], 1.14 [1.07–1.21], respectively. The association between levels of food insecurity and functional limitation is modified by race/ethnicity.

Conclusions: Functional limitation is significantly associated with increasing food insecurity in older adults.

Keywords:

• Food insecurity
• functional limitations
• older adults

Additional information

Funding

Mr. Petersen is funded by the Burrough Wellcome Fund Big Data and the Life Sciences Fellowship at Dartmouth. Research reported in this publication was supported by The Dartmouth Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UL1TR001086) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and through a training grant to AJT (T32LM012204). Dr. Brooks received grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH073553-11, PI: Stephen Bartels, PhD). Dr. Batsis’ research reported in this publication was supported in part by the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23AG051681. The authors acknowledge Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth and National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant 5P30 CA023108-37 Developmental Funds. The content is solely the responsibility of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.