Food Insecurity, Healthcare Utilization, and Healthcare Expenditures: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

This study examines the longitudinal association between household food insecurity and healthcare utilization and expenditure. A multi-wave longitudinal cohort study was conducted using the 2008-2019 and 2021 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study. The baseline data included participants aged ≥19 years with valid responses to the food insecurity and healthcare questionnaires in the 2008 wave ( = 12,166). Healthcare outcomes encompassed outpatient visits, inpatient admissions, days hospitalized, and personal healthcare expenditure. Random effects Poisson and linear regressions were estimated. Severe food insecurity was associated with a higher incidence rate of outpatient visits (IRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.12-1.17), days of hospitalization (IRR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.22), and inpatient admissions (IRR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.18-1.65). Moderate food insecurity was associated with 10.4% ( = -0.11; 95% CI, -0.14 to -0.07) or 238,276 KRW reductions in personal healthcare expenditures in the subsequent year. Household food insecurity was linked to increased healthcare utilization and reduced personal healthcare expenditure among Korean adults. Our findings present opportunities to identify target populations for healthcare policies and interventions.