The Association of Food Insecurity with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension: A Multicenter Case-Control Study in Urban Population

ABSTRACT

@#Introduction: The household food insecurity (FI) is still one of global health issues, which is related to various health and developmental problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of the FI with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in a city in North-West of Iran. Methods: Study population was the Khoy city’s households which refer to the primary health-care centers. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) six-item Household Food Security Scale was used to determine food insecurity. Sample size for each case group (type 2 diabetic and hypertensive) was calculated to be 110 subjects and was doubled to be 220 subjects in the control group. Multi-stage random sampling method was applied. To control the confounding variables, the logistic regression was used. Results: In total, 210 subjects (47.7%) had food security and 52.3% were insecure. Seventeen percent of the study population had normal BMI (Body Mass Index) and 83% were obese or overweight (42.7% obese, 40.5% overweight). In multivariate analysis the age (p<0.001), BMI (p=0.002), and education (p=0.002) were significantly related to hypertension. However, food insecurity was not significantly related to diabetes and hypertension. Conclusion: High prevalence of FI, obesity and overweight in the population necessitate the educational interventions about healthy nutrition in families, especially from childhood. Financial and nutritional support is needed for the families with FI. Considering the indirect relationship between FI and hypertension shown in this study, it is recommended to implement interventions to reduce the FI as a risk factor of hypertension.