Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St. Office E-6144, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Cancer Causes Control. 2024 Nov;35(11):1447-1455. doi: 10.1007/s10552-024-01899-9. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
Food security, and reliable access to nutritious food, is essential for maintaining health yet remains elusive for many, including U.S. patients with breast cancer (BC). Research specifically focusing on public health consequences of food insecurity in BC survivors is limited. We addressed this gap by exploring the relationship between food security and various sociodemographic, clinical, and cancer-related factors among Black BC survivors in Maryland.
The parent study engaged Black female BC survivors in Maryland through digital campaigns and referrals, achieving 100 completed surveys. Food security was assessed through an online follow-up survey with the six-item short form from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), leading to a binary classification for analysis from raw scores. Statistical analysis involved descriptive analysis and Chi-square tests to explore the relationship between food security status, various BC risk factors, and follow-up survey response status.
Of the 31 participants who participated in the follow-up survey, 11 (35.5%) were categorized as having low food security. We observed significant associations between food security status and both income (< $40,000; chi-square p = 0.004) and education levels (high school/GED; chi-square p = 0.004). In comparing respondents to non-respondents, significant differences in employment (p = 0.031) and health insurance status (p = 0.006) were observed.
Our descriptive findings demonstrate the importance of further studies evaluating food security screenings in Black BC survivors to enable targeted interventions aiming to improve overall health outcomes and equity in cancer survivorship care.
食品安全以及可靠地获取营养食品对于维持健康至关重要，但许多人，包括美国乳腺癌（BC）患者，仍然难以实现这一目标。专门研究食品不安全对 BC 幸存者的公共卫生后果的研究有限。我们通过探索马里兰州黑人 BC 幸存者中食品安全性与各种社会人口统计学、临床和癌症相关因素之间的关系来解决这一差距。
该研究通过数字活动和推荐，让马里兰州的黑人女性 BC 幸存者参与进来，完成了 100 份完整的调查问卷。通过美国农业部（USDA）的六项目短表在线进行后续调查，对食品安全性进行评估，根据原始分数得出二进制分类进行分析。统计分析包括描述性分析和卡方检验，以探索食品安全状况、各种 BC 风险因素以及后续调查应答状况之间的关系。
在 31 名参加后续调查的参与者中，有 11 名（35.5%）被归类为低食品安全性。我们观察到食品安全状况与收入（<$40,000；卡方 p=0.004）和教育水平（高中/普通教育发展证书；卡方 p=0.004）之间存在显著关联。在比较应答者和非应答者时，观察到就业（p=0.031）和健康保险状况（p=0.006）存在显著差异。
我们的描述性发现表明，需要进一步研究评估黑人 BC 幸存者中的食品安全筛查，以实施有针对性的干预措施，旨在改善整体健康结果并促进癌症生存者护理中的公平性。
