TY - JOUR T1 - Mental illness, not obesity status, is associated with food insecurity among the elderly in the Health and Retirement Study. JF - Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics Y1 - 2019 A1 - Diana P Brostow A1 - Gunzburger, Elise A1 - Lauren M. Abbate A1 - Lisa A Brenner A1 - Kali S Thomas KW - BMI KW - Depressive symptoms KW - Food insecurity KW - Mental Health AB -

OBJECTIVES: Food insecurity, limited or uncertain access to adequate nutrition, is an increasingly recognized determinant of health outcomes and is often associated with having obesity. It is unclear, however, if this association persists in elderly populations.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2868 participants' aged 65+ years from the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations between food insecurity and body mass index, demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and medical history.

RESULTS: Participants with overweight/obesity had a higher prevalence of food insecurity than leaner counterparts, however, weight status was not a significant predictor of food insecurity after multivariate adjustment. Instead, mental illness, current smoking status, and non-White race were all independently associated with food insecurity.

DISCUSSION: Beyond financial status, health care providers are encouraged to use these characteristics to identify elderly patients that may be at risk of food insecurity.

VL - 38 IS - 2 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30794096?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Food insecurity among veterans: Findings from the Health and Retirement study JF - The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging Y1 - 2017 A1 - Diana P Brostow A1 - Gunzburger, E. A1 - Kali S Thomas KW - Nutrition KW - Veterans AB - Objectives: We examined the prevalence of food insecurity in an older population, specifically assessing factors associated with food insecurity among U.S. military Veterans. Methods: Data from the 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study and the 2013 Health Care and Nutrition Mail Survey of 2560 male participants (1254 Veterans) were used to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity and to identify significant predictors of food insecurity among male Veterans. Results: Among male Veterans, 6.4% reported food insecurity, compared to 11.9% of male non-veterans (p < 0.01). Younger age, difficulty with daily activities and depression were significantly associated with increased odds of food insecurity among male Veterans aged 50 to 64. In male Veterans age 65 years and older, current smoking, a psychiatric diagnosis and depression were significantly associated with increased odds of food insecurity. Conclusions: This study identified significant factors that may be used to target interventions to improve nutritional status among older male Veterans © 2017 Serdi and Springer-Verlag France VL - 21 IS - 10 JO - J Nutr Health Aging ER -