Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Information Systems and Technology

Department

Information and Decision Sciences

First Reader/Committee Chair

Dr. Benjamin Becerra

Abstract

Uncertainty or limited access to safe food, known as food insecurity, can affect the health and healthcare needs of individuals with several chronic conditions. During 2022, 12.8 percentage (around 17.0 million) of households in the United States experienced food insecurity. The main objective of this study was to examine the Association between food insecurity and chronic health conditions adults. We collected data from NHIS 2022 sample Adults’ Interview (The National Health Interview Survey). The research question asked are: (Q1) Are there certain long term health issues that are more common among adults facing food insecurity age in between the ages of 18 to 48? (Q2) What are the possible connections between food insecurity and chronic health conditions within the age group of 18 to 48? (Q3) Is there a difference between younger adults and older adults’ health issues because of food insecurity?

The research questions were analyzed in the Chi-Square test and survey-Weighted logistic regression model and interpreted the results in odds ratios. The findings and conclusion for each question are: (Q1) Asthma among adults facing food insecurity (22.16%) compared to their food secure counterparts (15.96%). Similarly, Hypertension (23.2 %), Cardiovascular conditions (1.44%), COPD (4.82 %), and Diabetes (4.82 %) also show significantly higher frequencies among food insecure individuals compared to food secure individuals (13.45%, 0.49%, 1.31%, 2.72%). These findings imply that adults facing food insecurity aged 18 to 48 are more likely to suffer from these chronic health conditions compared to their food secure counterparts. (Q2) Asthma, Cancer, Hypertension, Heart Disease, COPD, Diabetes, not having these health conditions are associated with lower odds of food insecurity, with reductions in odds ranging from 21% to 76%. (Q3) hypertension was 77% in older adults compared to young adults’ (66%) and COPD was 47% in older adults compared to younger adults (41%). Furthermore, other areas for future studies that appeared from this study includes longitudinal studies and interventions among both young adults and older adults. In addition, Future research could look at medical records or clinical biomarkers to expand on the current study's findings.

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