Nutrition and Health, Health and Society Institute, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Silva Jardim Street, 136, Vila Mathias, Santos, São Paulo, SP, 11015-020, Brazil.
Federal University of São Paulo, 862, Botucatu Street, Vila Clementino, SP, 04039-032, Brazil.
J Health Popul Nutr. 2022 Aug 17;41(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s41043-022-00319-5.
Hunger affects millions of people worldwide. In the current pandemic scenario of coronavirus Brazil has experienced an epidemic peak of hunger, amplifying existing prepandemic vulnerabilities, mainly in the North Region of the country. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity and its associated factors in homes with children under 5 years of age in an urban area of a municipality of the western Brazilian Amazon.
A household survey was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 557 children and their families. Food insecurity (FI) was determined using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Associations between variables were analyzed based on the prevalence ratio (PR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) calculated through multiple Poisson regression analysis. Variables with a P value < 0.05 after adjustments were considered significantly associated with the outcome.
A prevalence of 76.5% (CI 1.36-2.67) food insecurity was found among the families in the study; 42.9% had moderate (CI 1.31-2.83) and severe (CI 1.10-1.83) food insecurity. Moderate and severe FI was associated with low family income (P = 0.00), participation in governmental income transfer programs (P = 0.01), and heads of household with less than 7 years of schooling (P = 0.02). Moreover, substantial frequencies of height deficit and being overweight were found among the children.
The high prevalence of hunger and food insecurity and its associated factors reflects the context of geographic isolation and social exclusion in which these families live, suggesting that a substantial portion of the population under 5 years of age had experienced episodes of hunger in the 90 days prior to the survey. The prevalence of height deficit and being overweight among the children reveals a scenario of epidemiological/nutritional polarization, requiring the formulation of specific public policies for this population.
饥饿影响着全球数百万人。在当前巴西冠状病毒大流行的背景下，饥饿问题达到了高峰，加剧了大流行前存在的脆弱性，主要在该国北部地区。本研究旨在调查巴西西部亚马孙地区一个城市中 5 岁以下儿童家庭的粮食不安全状况及其相关因素的流行率。
对一个概率样本的 557 名儿童及其家庭进行了家庭调查。使用巴西粮食不安全量表确定粮食不安全状况。采用多泊松回归分析，根据流行率比（PR）及其相应的 95%置信区间（CI）分析变量之间的关联。调整后 P 值<0.05 的变量被认为与结果显著相关。
研究中家庭的粮食不安全率为 76.5%（CI 1.36-2.67）；42.9%的家庭存在中度（CI 1.31-2.83）和严重（CI 1.10-1.83）粮食不安全。中度和严重粮食不安全与家庭收入低（P=0.00）、参与政府收入转移计划（P=0.01）以及家庭负责人受教育程度不足 7 年（P=0.02）相关。此外，儿童中存在显著身高不足和超重的频率。
高饥饿和粮食不安全的流行率及其相关因素反映了这些家庭生活的地理隔离和社会排斥的背景，表明在调查前的 90 天内，相当一部分 5 岁以下儿童经历了饥饿事件。儿童中身高不足和超重的发生率揭示了一种流行病学/营养极化的情况，需要为这一人群制定具体的公共政策。
