Elderly's food security and its associated socioeconomic determinants in Tehran: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Food security as a component of the fundamental foundation in the elderly's health was a priority in the 20‐year vision development plan of the country. The main goal of the present study was to determine the elderly food security status and its influential factors in the city of Tehran, Iran. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted on 1000 people age over 60 from Tehran city capital of Iran in 2018. A validated short questionnaire with six and nine questions used to measure the food security and socioeconomic status of the elderly, respectively. The data were analyzed using the chi‐square test and logistic regression model. Results The findings revealed that 39.1% of the investigated elderly were facing food insecurity, 59% had chronic diseases, and 13% of them had no insurance coverage. Elderly with monthly income ≤ 10 million Iranian rial (odds ratio [OR] = 3.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.61‐4.48), who had chronic diseases (OR = 3.54, 95% CI = 1.94‐6.62), and had a diploma degree or less (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.4‐3.72) were more likely to be food insecure. Conclusion Expanding social security insurance for the elderly besides financial support, reforming inappropriate food habits, and increasing elderly’ nutritional awareness can be effective in promoting food security for the aging population of this country.

Financial Hardship on Food Security in Ageing Populations

“…Food security in this sample was significantly higher among those who were male. This finding is consistent with several other reports that food security was more prevalent in male older persons than females [12][13][14]27]. Traditionally, in Thai family culture, Thai men or fathers were expected to be leaders and providers of the family and were more involved in outdoor chores, whereas Thai women or mothers were expected to provide care and perform most of housework including procuring and preparing meals to promote overall family life and health, even at the expense of their own needs [28].…”

“…In South Africa, 30.2% of older persons lived with food insecurity [ 9 – 11 ]. In Tehran and Malaysia, 39.1% and 10.4% of older persons faced food insecurity, respectively [ 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Various studies have shown that socio-economic and demographic characteristics of seniors are the main factors that support or threaten food security of the older population. Lack of food security or presence of food insecurity was more prevalent in lower-income, youngest-old age, less education, and unemployed groups [ 7 , 8 , 13 ]. There is also a significant relationship between financial difficulty and food security.…”

Effect of birth plans integrated into childbirth preparation classes on maternal and neonatal outcomes of Iranian women: A randomized controlled trial

“…This study was conducted in four public health centers (Meysam, Ayat, Afarinesh, and Azadegan) affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Tehran is the capital of Iran which is also known as the most populous city in this country ( 37 ). These health centers provided childbirth preparation classes and were designated for sampling in this study.…”