| Millions of households throughout the United States experience food insecurity, defined as not having enough to eat at any given time. The number of food-insecure households in the United States has increased significantly in recent years. This increase has strong implications for people with diabetes, as diabetes and many of its complications are diet-sensitive conditions. This quantitative study examined potential associations between food insecurity and the presence of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease among low-income individuals diagnosed with diabetes. Study data were assembled from sources using the 1999--2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and logistic regression analysis to address the research question. The study found that the incidence of cardiovascular disease (OR = 1.75, 95% CI =1.10, 2.74) and kidney disease (OR = 1.54, 95% CI =1.11, 2.14) was nearly two times greater for low-income and food-insecure individuals with diabetes than it was for low-income food-secure individuals with diabetes. This result suggests that food insecurity is associated with diabetes complications among low-income individuals with diabetes. Individual, community, health care, and social policy-level solutions are needed to provide appropriate health care and self-management support to low-income, food-insecure individuals with diabetes in order to prevent and/or delay diabetes complications. Emphasis should be placed on the role of food security in the development and management of those complications. |
