Food insecurity among veterans of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Widome, Rachel; Jensen, Agnes; Bangerter, Ann; Fu, Steven S.

doi:10.1017/s136898001400072x

Cited by 49 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Food insecurity is a measure of how well our social safety net is working. In the United States: 42.2 million people were in a low food secure household (reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet without reduced food intake) in 2015, and 10.9 million adults lived in very low food-secure households (disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake) (3), including 27.0% of Iraq–Afghanistan war veterans (4). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for Food Insecurity in Six Veterans Administration Clinics for the Homeless, June–December 2015

2017

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ObjectiveWe assessed findings from a food-insecurity screening of a national sample of Veterans Administration clinics for homeless and formerly homeless veterans.MethodsWe reviewed results from initial screenings administered at 6 Veterans Administration primary care clinics for the homeless and responses from clinic staff members interviewed about the screening program.ResultsA total of 270 patients were screened. The average age was 53 years, and most were male (93.1%). Screening showed a high prevalence of food insecurity. Of the 270, 48.5% reported they experienced food insecurity in the previous 3 months, 55.0% reported averaging 2 meals a day, and 27.3% averaged 1 meal a day. Eighty-seven percent prepared their own meals, relying on food they bought (54.2%), help from friends and family (19.1%), and soup kitchens and food pantries (22%); 47.3% received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (food stamps). Additionally, of those who screened positive for food insecurity 19.8% had diabetes or prediabetes, and 43.5% reported hypoglycemia symptoms when without food. Clinic staff members responded positively to the screening program and described it as a good rapport builder with patients.ConclusionsIntegrating screening for food insecurity among patients in clinical settings was well received by both patients and health care providers. Addressing these positive findings of food insecurity requires a multidisciplinary health care approach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for Food Insecurity in Six Veterans Administration Clinics for the Homeless, June–December 2015

2017

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“…Although these reports speak to the potential for high levels of food need and FI in US veteran households, they were limited by their reliance on highly selected samples (1)(2)(3) , lack of a comparison group of non-veteran households (1,2) or limited measures for FI (2) . FI, which indicates that household 'access to adequate food [is] limited by a lack of money or other resources' (5) , is an important indicator of health for both children and adults (6)(7)(8) .…”

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confidence: 99%

Food insecurity in veteran households: findings from nationally representative data

Miller

Larson

Byrne

et al. 2015

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: The present study is the first to use nationally representative data to compare rates of food insecurity among households with veterans of the US Armed Forces and non-veteran households. Design: We used data from the 2005-2013 waves of the Current Population Survey -Food Security Supplement to identify rates of food insecurity and very low food security in veteran and non-veteran households. We estimated the odds and probability of food insecurity in veteran and non-veteran households in uncontrolled and controlled models. We replicated these results after separating veteran households by their most recent period of service. We weighted models to create nationally representative estimates. Setting: Nationally representative data from the 2005-2013 waves of the Current Population Survey -Food Security Supplement. Subjects: US households (n 388 680).Results: Uncontrolled models found much lower rates of food insecurity (8·4 %) and very low food security (3·3 %) among veteran households than in non-veteran households (14·4 % and 5·4 %, respectively), with particularly low rates among households with older veterans. After adjustment, average rates of food insecurity and very low food security were not significantly different for veteran households. However, the probability of food insecurity was significantly higher among some recent veterans and significantly lower for those who served during the Vietnam War. Conclusions: Although adjusting eliminated many differences between veteran and non-veteran households, veterans who served from 1975 and onwards may be at higher risk for food insecurity and should be the recipients of targeted outreach to improve nutritional outcomes.

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“…Smoking in the home, modified from the National Health Interview Survey-Cancer Control Supplement (2005) was based on responses to how often people usually smoked anywhere inside the respondent’s home during the previous year (never, sometimes/most days/daily). Worry about discrimination, modified from the MIHA 2011 survey, was defined in response to the question: “Overall during your life until now, how often have you worried that you might be treated or judged unfairly because of your race or ethnic group?” Response options included “very/somewhat often, not very often/never.” We used a 6-item food insecurity scale developed by the National Center for Health Statistics and Abt Associates Inc. that includes questions referencing the last 12 months and querying mothers on issues such as: “The food I bought just didn’t last, and I didn’t have money to get more,” “I couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals,” and “Did you ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food.” 86 Women who answered affirmatively to at least 2 of the items were considered food insecure (versus food secure). Perceived stress was defined in response to the question: “How often did you feel that you had more to do than you could comfortably handle” during the past year (very/somewhat often, not very often/ never).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Environmental Factors Related to Smoking Cessation among Mothers: Findings from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) Study

et al. 2015

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Objectives The current study examined associations between race/ethnicity and psychosocial/environmental factors with current smoking status, and whether psychosocial/environmental factors accounted for racial differences in smoking status in a population-based sample of mothers in California. Methods Cross-sectional data from 542 women with a history of smoking were used. Analyses adjusted for age, partner status, and educational attainment. Results In models adjusted for sociodemographics, black women had significantly lower odds, and Latina immigrants had significantly higher odds of being a former smoker compared to white women. Persons smoking in the home, having a majority of friends who smoke, having perceptions of their neighborhood as being somewhat or very unsafe, and experiencing food insecurity were associated with decreased odds of being a former smoker. When these variables were entered into a single model, only being a Latina immigrant and having a majority of friends who smoke were significantly associated with smoking status. Conclusions Black women demonstrated a notable disparity compared with white women in smoking status, accounted for by psychosocial/environmental factors. Immigrant Latinas demonstrated notable success in ever quitting smoking. Social networks may be important barriers to smoking cessation among women.

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Food insecurity among veterans of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Cited by 49 publications

References 18 publications

Screening for Food Insecurity in Six Veterans Administration Clinics for the Homeless, June–December 2015

Screening for Food Insecurity in Six Veterans Administration Clinics for the Homeless, June–December 2015

Food insecurity in veteran households: findings from nationally representative data

Social and Environmental Factors Related to Smoking Cessation among Mothers: Findings from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) Study

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