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Food Insecure Women with Lower Education Report More Health Problems in a Global Sample of Individuals
Author(s) -
Dallmann Diana,
Miller Meghan,
MelgarQuiñonez Hugo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.899.13
Subject(s) - logistic regression , environmental health , scale (ratio) , food security , population , psychology , gerontology , mental health , demography , medicine , geography , sociology , cartography , archaeology , psychotherapist , agriculture
Because of its intimate relationship with an insufficient dietary intake of nutrients essential for a healthy and active life, food insecurity (FI) is associated with a wide range of physical and mental health issues. Education is linked with better health through multiple pathways, including job prospects and income, risk for disease, intra‐generational effects, and behavioral and social factors. In most societies, especially in developing countries, women are more vulnerable than men to FI and to poor education levels. The present research uses the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) in the Gallup World Poll (GWP) to examine the impact of FI and education on self‐reported health status across nationally representative samples from 140 countries. This study aimed to ascertain the effects of FI, gender, and education on the likelihood that participants report health problems (HP). It also explored potential interactions in their effect on health. Data from the 2014 GWP were analyzed using IBM SPSS 21 with the Complex Samples module. One question regarding the presence of HP was selected as the outcome of interest. FI was assessed using the 8‐item FIES, considering food insecure (fi) individuals to be those who answered affirmatively to at least one questionnaire item. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of the interaction term of FI, education and gender on HP. The model was adjusted for age, income, water quality, and household size. Data was weighted by country population size. The sample included 136,667 individuals, of which 50.1% were female, 24.9% reported having a HP, and 45.3% were fi. Regarding education, 45.4% completed elementary education or less, 46.1% completed up to three years of tertiary education, and 8.5% completed four years beyond ‘high school’ and/or received a college degree. The interaction term (FI, education, and gender) was statistically significant (p < 0.001). When compared to food secure men with the highest education level, fi women with low education level presented the highest odds of reporting HP (OR=5.2). Results reveal increased vulnerability to HP among women, fi individuals, and those with lower education levels, providing evidence that health is determined not only by internal factors as genetics or external ones such as healthy lifestyle, but also by social factors. These social determinants are important to take into account in health‐related policy decisions and program design.