Abstract
Household food insecurity has been associated with noncommunicable diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between household food insecurity and asthma in Korean adults. Household food security statuses were classified into three groups: Food-secure household, food-insecure household without hunger, and food-insecure household with hunger. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the presence of asthma according to household food security status were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses after adjusting for confounding factors. A total of 14,770 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of asthma was 2.6% in those with a secure food status, 3.2% in those with an insecure food status without hunger, and 7.6% in those with an insecure food status with hunger (p < 0.001). Compared with that in participants with a household food secure status, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for asthma were 1.12 (0.73–1.73) in those with a food-insecure household without hunger status and 2.44 (1.33–4.46) in those with a food-insecure household with hunger status after additionally adjusting for confounding factors. We found that household food insecurity with hunger was significantly associated with asthma prevalence in Korean adults. Implementation of household food security screening and public health intervention could be helpful to prevent and reduce asthma in adults.
Highlights
According to the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is defined as a state “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” [1]
We found that household food insecurity with hunger was significantly associated with asthma prevalence in Korean adults
We found household food insecurity closely associated with asthma prevalence in a among adults fromthat households with food insecuritywas with hunger
Summary
According to the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is defined as a state “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” [1]. Food security involves the accessibility, sufficiency, security, and sustainability of food to meet the dietary needs of all members of the household [2]. In Korea, a tool for assessing household food insecurity by classifying children and adults was first introduced in 2012 through the Korea National Health and Nutrition. There has been a lack of comprehensive understanding for assessing household food insecurity in adults. An unhealthy diet (malnutrition, nutrition excess, processed food, or micronutrient deficiency) is one of the crucial factors contributing to noncommunicable diseases, which have enormous social and economic costs for individuals, families, and communities [6]
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