Stuff Janice E, Horton Jacqueline A, Bogle Margaret L, Connell Carol, Ryan Donna, Zaghloul Sahar, Thornton Alma, Simpson Pippa, Gossett Jeff, Szeto Kitty
USDA, ARS, Delta NIRI, 900 South Shackleford Road, Suite 509, Little Rock, AR 72211, USA.
J Rural Health. 2004 Spring;20(2):173-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2004.tb00025.x.
Residents of the Lower Mississippi Delta of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are at risk for food insecurity since a high proportion of the population live in households with incomes below the poverty level and have reduced access to food and decreased availability of a variety of foods. However, the magnitude of the problem is unknown because presently only nationwide and state estimates of food insecurity are available.
This study was conducted by the Lower-Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Consortium to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity, identify high-risk subgroups in the Lower Delta, and compare to national data.
A 2-stage stratified cluster sample representative of the population in 36 counties in the Lower Delta was selected using list-assisted random digit dialing telephone methodology. A cross-sectional telephone survey of 1662 households was conducted in 18 of the 36 counties using the US Food Security Survey Module.
Twenty-one percent of Lower Delta households were food insecure, double the 2000 nationwide rate of 10.5%. Within the Lower Delta, groups with the highest rates of food insecurity were households with income below $15,000, black households, and households with children. The prevalence of hunger in Delta households with white children was 3.2% and in households with black children was 11.0%, compared to nationwide estimates of 0.3% and 1.6%.
The Lower Mississippi Delta is characterized by a high prevalence of food insecurity and hunger. Future efforts to identify the household and community determinants of food insecurity to reduce its high prevalence are indicated.
阿肯色州、路易斯安那州和密西西比州的密西西比河下游三角洲地区的居民面临粮食不安全风险，因为很大一部分人口生活在收入低于贫困线的家庭中，获得食物的机会减少，且各类食物的供应也有所减少。然而，由于目前仅有全国和各州的粮食不安全估计数据，该问题的严重程度尚不清楚。
本研究由密西西比河下游三角洲营养干预研究联盟开展，旨在确定家庭粮食不安全的患病率，识别三角洲下游的高危亚组，并与全国数据进行比较。
采用列表辅助随机数字拨号电话方法，选取了一个代表三角洲下游36个县人口的两阶段分层整群样本。使用美国粮食安全调查模块，对36个县中的18个县的1662户家庭进行了横断面电话调查。
三角洲下游21%的家庭存在粮食不安全问题，是2000年全国10.5%这一比例的两倍。在三角洲下游地区，粮食不安全率最高的群体是收入低于15000美元的家庭、黑人家庭以及有子女的家庭。有白人儿童的三角洲家庭的饥饿患病率为3.2%，有黑人儿童的家庭为11.0%，而全国估计值分别为0.3%和1.6%。
密西西比河下游三角洲地区的特点是粮食不安全和饥饿的患病率很高。未来需要努力确定粮食不安全的家庭和社区决定因素，以降低其高患病率。
