Verghese Priya S, Matossian Debora, Moin Anoosh, Krissberg Jill
Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Pediatr Transplant. 2025 Jun;29(4):e70091. doi: 10.1111/petr.70091.
Food insecurity (FI) has documented negative health impacts on children, with a higher prevalence in children with kidney disease. The prevalence and consequences of FI in pediatric kidney transplant recipients are unknown.
In this study, we screened and assessed pediatric kidney transplant recipients for FI using the Hunger Vital Sign and analyzed the impact of FI on pediatric kidney transplant outcomes.
Of the 118 pediatric kidney transplant recipients screened, 23 (19.5%) were identified as FI. Food-secure and food-insecure recipients were not significantly different in age or gender, but there was significantly more FI in recipients of Hispanic ethnicity (56% vs. 30%) and with public insurance (83% vs. 52%). Markers of nutrient stores and transplant outcomes were not significantly different in recipients with FI.
Our study highlights the feasibility and importance of screening pediatric kidney transplant recipients for FI with the Hunger Vital. The observed link of FI with demographic characteristics such as Hispanic ethnicity and having public insurance offers potential targets for intervention. Larger studies assessing FI and outcomes in pediatric transplant recipients are critical for focused interventions and policy development.
粮食不安全（FI）已被证明会对儿童健康产生负面影响，在肾病患儿中患病率更高。小儿肾移植受者中FI的患病率及后果尚不清楚。
在本研究中，我们使用饥饿生命体征对小儿肾移植受者进行FI筛查和评估，并分析FI对小儿肾移植结局的影响。
在筛查的118名小儿肾移植受者中，23名（19.5%）被确定为粮食不安全。粮食安全和粮食不安全的受者在年龄或性别上无显著差异，但西班牙裔受者（56%对30%）和有公共保险的受者（83%对52%）中粮食不安全的情况明显更多。粮食不安全受者的营养储备指标和移植结局无显著差异。
我们的研究强调了使用饥饿生命体征对小儿肾移植受者进行FI筛查的可行性和重要性。观察到的FI与西班牙裔种族和拥有公共保险等人口统计学特征之间的联系为干预提供了潜在目标。评估小儿移植受者中FI及其结局的更大规模研究对于有针对性的干预措施和政策制定至关重要。
