Abstract 13552: Associations Between Food Security and Social Determinants of Health With Dietary Intakes- A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Food insecurity remains prevalent in the United States and has disproportionately affected those living in poverty or experiencing financial hardships. Social determinants of health (SODH) influence food security; yet, little is known on which aspects of the built environment influence the most food insecurity and dietary intake, especially among minority groups living in urban food deserts. We conducted a pilot study to examine the association between individuals’ dietary intake, food insecurity and other SODH measures among individuals residing in an urban food desert. Methods: We recruited 45 adults, residing in the targeted study area. Following consent, participants completed surveys to measure sociodemographic and health status, dietary intake, social determinants of health (food insecurity, perceived neighborhood safety, healthy food environment, perceived discrimination). All demographic and survey data were examined graphically and summarized descriptively. Analysis of variance was used to examine associations between dietary data and SODH measures. Results: Overall, ~78% of the participants were African American, female (80%), 53 years old on average. More than 50% lived in a household with a yearly income below $12,000. Education level and neighborhood safety were the major SODH influencing dietary intake. Majority of participants were food insecure and 54% reported not feeling safe in their neighborhood. The effect of food insecurity was significant on the average intake of processed meat (F = 4.72, p = .036), fast food (F= 4.384, p= .042) and whole grains (F= 4.573, p= .038). The effect of education level on average intake of processed meat was significant, F = 3.59, p=.02. Lastly, neighborhood safety significantly influenced the average intake of processed meat (F= 3.593, p= 0.022). Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study confirm the importance of examining neighborhood contextual factors such as SODH in relation to food insecurity and diet. A better understanding of the relationships between dietary intake and SODH have important implications for clinical practice, behavioral interventions and policies aiming to decrease diet-related health disparities.