Does Food Access Impact Neonatal Birth Weight? [11O

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Food deserts are typically found in low-income, low-resource areas that can impact health outcomes. A population-based study in Florida was conducted to determine if living in a food desert was associated with a higher prevalence of low birth weight (LBW, <2500 grams). METHODS: Birthweight and demographic information were obtained from the Florida Community Health Assessment Research Tool Set. These data were linked to census tract-level food access information obtained from the US Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas. A low-income, low-access tract (LILA) is a census tract with 20% of the population having income less than 80% of the statewide median family income and with at least 500 people, or 33% of the population, living more than 1 mile (urban areas) or more than 10 miles (rural areas) from the nearest supermarket. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2018, there were 2,368,114 live births with nonmissing birthweight and food access designation in Florida. Approximately 8.6% were LBW, and 18.9% of all LBW occurred in LILA tracts. After adjusting for maternal race/ethnicity, the prevalence ratio (PR) for the association between living in a LILA tract and LBW was 1.06 (95% CI 1.05–1.07). Stratifying by race/ethnicity, the PR were as follows: white non-Hispanic 1.13 (95% CI 1.11–1.15), black non-Hispanic 1.05 (95% CI 1.03–1.06), and Hispanic 1.00 (95% CI 0.98–1.02). CONCLUSION: Maternal food access is associated with a higher prevalence of LBW infants in Florida, particularly in white non-Hispanic populations.