Table 2.
Prevalence of food insecurity in older adults (≥ 65 years) by chronic conditions and COVID-19 infection status, 2020–2021 NHIS sample
| Totala (n = 17,977) | High or marginal food security (n = 17,329) | Low food security(n = 430) | Very low food security (n = 218) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any chronic conditions | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 13.9 (2421) | 98.0 (2378) | 1.4 (32) | 0.5 (11) | |
| Yes | 86.1 (15,556) | 95.7 (14,951) | 2.9 (398) | 1.4 (207) | |
| Physical health conditions | |||||
| Arthritis | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 53.0 (9313) | 96.7 (9058) | 2.5 (175) | 0.9 (80) | |
| Yes | 47.0 (8664) | 95.2 (8271) | 3.0 (255) | 1.8 (138) | |
| CHD | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 85.6 (15,408) | 96.3 (14,898) | 2.6 (352) | 1.1 (158) | |
| Yes | 14.4 (2569) | 94.2 (2431) | 3.4 (78) | 2.4 (60) | |
| Hypertension | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 39.1 (6990) | 97.1 (6808) | 2.0 (126) | 0.8 (56) | |
| Yes | 60.9 (10,987) | 95.3 (10,521) | 3.2 (304) | 1.6 (162) | |
| Stroke | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 92.8 (16,691) | 96.2 (16,134) | 2.6 (375) | 1.2 (182) | |
| Yes | 7.2 (1286) | 92.8 (1195) | 4.2 (55) | 3.0 (36) | |
| Prediabetes | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 75.4 (13,706) | 96.5 (13,285) | 2.4 (284) | 1.1 (137) | |
| Yes | 24.6 (4271) | 94.3 (4044) | 3.8 (146) | 1.9 (81) | |
| Diabetes | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 80.2 (14,647) | 96.7 (14,212) | 2.3 (293) | 1.0 (142) | |
| Yes | 19.8 (3330) | 93.0 (3117) | 4.6 (137) | 2.4 (76) | |
| Asthma | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 88.7 (15,867) | 96.2 (15,353) | 2.6 (346) | 1.2 (168) | |
| Yes | 11.3 (2110) | 94.2 (1976) | 3.7 (84) | 2.1 (50) | |
| COPD | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 89.4 (16,061) | 96.3 (15,550) | 2.6 (346) | 1.1 (165) | |
| Yes | 10.6 (1916) | 93.1 (1779) | 4.1 (84) | 2.8 (53) | |
| Disability | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 82.1 (14,811) | 97.0 (14,426) | 2.2 (271) | 0.8 (114) | |
| Yes | 17.9 (3166) | 91.4 (2903) | 5.0 (159) | 3.6 (104) | |
| Mental health conditions | |||||
| Anxiety disorder | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 88.5 (15,817) | 96.6 (15,351) | 2.4 (316) | 1.1 (150) | |
| Yes | 11.5 (2160) | 91.5 (1978) | 5.5 (114) | 2.9 (68) | |
| Depression disorder | < 0.0001 | ||||
| No | 85.3 (15,160) | 96.7 (14,735) | 2.3 (291) | 1.0 (134) | |
| Yes | 14.7 (2817) | 91.7 (2594) | 5.2 (139) | 3.1 (84) | |
| COVID-19 infectionb | < 0.0001 | ||||
| Negative | 93.9 (13,252) | 95.2 (12,816) | 2.6 (297) | 1.0 (139) | |
| Positive | 6.1 (716) | 96.3 (687) | 3.0 (19) | 1.8 (10) | |
Notes. NHIS National Health Interview Survey, COVID-19 coronavirus disease 2019, CHD coronary heart disease, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
aValues were expressed as % (n). All percentages (%) were based on the weighted sample and the number of participants (n) was calculated based on the unweighted sample
bThe prevalence of food insecurity by COVID-19 infection status was calculated within participants with available data on COVID-19