Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Food Systems Program, University of Vermont, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 Mar 24;14(7):1358. doi: 10.3390/nu14071358.
This study assessed changes in household food insecurity throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort of adults in the state of Vermont, USA, and examined the socio-demographic characteristics associated with increased odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic. We conducted three online surveys between March 2020 and March 2021 to collect longitudinal data on food security, use of food assistance programs, and job disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security was measured using the USDA six-item module. Among the 441 respondents, food insecurity rates increased significantly during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. Nearly a third (31.6%) of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point during the first year of the pandemic, with 53.1% of food-insecure households being classified as newly food-insecure. The odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic varied based on socio-demographic factors. Households with children (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.782−16.936, p < 0.01), women (OR 8.1, 95% CI 1.777−36.647, p < 0.05), BIPOC/Hispanic respondents (OR 11.8, 95% CI 1.615−85.805, p < 0.05), and households experiencing a job disruption (OR 5.0, 95% CI 1.583−16.005, p <0.01) had significantly higher odds of experiencing food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, while respondents with a college degree (OR 0.08; 95% CI 0.025−0.246; p < 0.001) and household income of ≥USD 50,000 (OR 0.01; 95% CI 0.003−0.038; p < 0.001) had lower odds of experiencing food insecurity. These findings indicate that food insecurity continued to be a significant challenge one year after the start of the pandemic, which is important, given the adverse health impacts associated with food insecurity and health disparities among certain socio-demographic groups.
本研究评估了美国佛蒙特州成年人队列在 COVID-19 大流行第一年中家庭食物不安全状况的变化，并研究了与大流行期间食物不安全风险增加相关的社会人口特征。我们在 2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 3 月期间进行了三次在线调查，以收集有关食物安全、食品援助计划使用情况和 COVID-19 大流行期间工作中断的纵向数据。使用 USDA 六项目模块衡量食物安全。在 441 名受访者中，食物不安全率在大流行期间显著上升，并且在大流行开始一年后仍高于大流行前水平。将近三分之一（31.6%）的受访者在大流行的第一年中某个时候经历了食物不安全，其中 53.1%的食物不安全家庭被归类为新的食物不安全家庭。大流行期间经历食物不安全的可能性因社会人口因素而异。有孩子的家庭（OR5.5，95%CI1.782−16.936，p<0.01）、女性（OR8.1，95%CI1.777−36.647，p<0.05）、BIPOC/西班牙裔受访者（OR11.8，95%CI1.615−85.805，p<0.05）和经历工作中断的家庭（OR5.0，95%CI1.583−16.005，p<0.01）在 COVID-19 大流行的第一年经历食物不安全的可能性显著更高，而具有大学学历的受访者（OR0.08；95%CI0.025−0.246；p<0.001）和家庭收入≥50,000 美元（OR0.01；95%CI0.003−0.038；p<0.001）经历食物不安全的可能性较低。这些发现表明，大流行开始一年后，食物不安全仍然是一个重大挑战，鉴于食物不安全与某些社会人口群体之间的健康不平等相关的不良健康影响，这一点很重要。
