scholarly journals The Association between Stressful Events and Food Insecurity: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Australia

Author(s):  
Jeromey Temple

A considerable body of empirical evidence exists on the demographic and socio-economic correlates of food insecurity in Australia. An important omission from recent studies, however, is an understanding of the role of stressful life events, or stressors in explaining exposure to food insecurity. Using nationally representative data from the 2014 General Social Survey and multivariable logistic regression, this paper reports on the association between 18 discrete stressors and the likelihood of reporting food insecurity in Australia. The results, adjusted for known correlates of food insecurity and complex survey design, show that exposure to stressors significantly increased the likelihood of experiencing food insecurity. Importantly, stressors related to employment and health approximately doubled the odds of experiencing food insecurity. The results underscore the complex correlates of food insecurity and indicates that conceptually it interacts with many important social and economic problems in contemporary Australia. There is no simple fix to food insecurity and solutions require co-ordination across a range of social and economic policies.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diva Aliete dos Santos Vieira ◽  
Josiane Steluti ◽  
Eliseu Verly-Jr ◽  
Dirce Maria Marchioni ◽  
Regina Mara Fisberg

AbstractObjectiveTo assess Fe intake, calculate the prevalence of inadequate Fe intake and identify food contributors to Fe intake during 2003 and 2008 in a population-based study, reflecting before and after the mandatory fortification of flour with Fe.DesignTwo cross-sectional population-based studies conducted in 2003 and 2008. Dietary intake was evaluated by 24 h recall and the Software for Intake Distribution Estimation (PC-SIDE) was used to estimate within-person variance and prevalence of inadequate Fe intake. The statistical analysis was conducted considering the complex survey design.SettingSão Paulo, Brazil.SubjectsAdolescents, adults and elderly adults of both sexes, interviewed in 2003 (n 2386) and 2008 (n 1661).ResultsThe Fe intake mean increased in all populations in the post-fortification period. A reduction of over 90 % was observed in the prevalence of inadequate Fe intake among men for all age groups analysed. When evaluating women, despite the substantial reduction (over 63 %), prevalence of inadequate Fe intake remained high (34 %) in those aged 19–50 years. Major food contributors to Fe intake before fortification were beans, beef, vegetables and dairy. There was an alteration in the contributors in the post-fortification period, with bread, beef, beans and biscuits as main contributors.ConclusionsThe mandatory fortification with Fe significantly furthered the reduction in the prevalence of inadequacy, except among women of reproductive age, and changed the main contributors to this nutrient in the studied population. Therefore, monitoring of Fe addition in flour is essential to assess compliance to the fortified flour policy and to guarantee a safe Fe intake for all the population.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeromey B. Temple ◽  
Heather Wong ◽  
Angeline Ferdinand ◽  
Scott Avery ◽  
Yin Paradies ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A recent Royal Commission into the treatment of Australians living with disabilities has underscored the considerable exposure to violence and harm in this population. Yet, little is known about exposure to violence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities. The objective of this paper was to examine the prevalence, disability correlates and aspects of violence and threats reported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities. Methods Data from the 2014–15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey were used to measure physical violence, violent threats and disability. Multivariable logistic and ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for complex survey design were used to examine the association between measures of disability and exposure to violence and violent threats. Results In 2014–15, 17% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 with disability experienced an instance of physical violence compared with 13% of those with no disability. Approximately 22% of those with a profound or severe disability reported experiencing the threat of physical violence. After adjusting for a comprehensive set of confounding factors and accounting for complex survey design, presence of a disability was associated with a 1.5 odds increase in exposure to physical violence (OR = 1.54 p < 0.001), violence with harm (OR = 1.55 p < 0.001), more frequent experience of violence (OR = 1.55 p < 0.001) and a 2.1 odds increase (OR = 2.13 p < 0.001) in exposure to violent threats. Severity of disability, higher numbers of disabling conditions as well as specific disability types (e.g., psychological or intellectual) were associated with increased odds of both physical violence and threats beyond this level. Independent of these effects, removal from one’s natural family was strongly associated with experiences of physical violence and violent threats. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, regardless of disability status, were more likely to report partner or family violence, whereas men were more likely to report violence from other known individuals. Conclusion Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability are at heightened risk of physical violence and threats compared to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people without disability, with increased exposure for people with multiple, severe or specific disabilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 311-311
Author(s):  
Michelle Hilgeman ◽  
John Blosnich ◽  
Yasmin Cypel ◽  
Fatema Akhtar ◽  
Aaron Schneiderman ◽  
...  

Abstract Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Veterans report stress (e.g., discrimination under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policies) and mental health conditions (e.g., depression) that may increase risk for neurocognitive changes like dementia. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) can be an early indicator of neurocognitive change – yet no known studies have examined SCD in LGB Veterans. Cross-sectional data from the Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS) were examined for 260 LGB and 17,796 heterosexual Veterans. VE-HEROeS is the latest probability-based survey of Vietnam Era Veterans (1961–1975) as older adults (2016-2017). SCD was assessed using two subscales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Instrument Version-3 (FACT-Cog). Good reliability was observed in this sample: Cronbach’s alpha =.94 for the 7-item Perceived Cognitive Abilities subscale and .88 for the 4-item Comments from Others. Analyses were weighted to account for the complex survey design. LGB Veterans were slightly younger (M=68.3, range 59-84) than heterosexual Veterans (M=69.1, range 58-99, p=.03); were more likely to be female (13% vs 3%, p&lt;.01); and had fewer people living in the household (M=1.7 vs. M=2.1, p&lt;.01). LGB Veterans were also more likely than heterosexual Veterans to report feeling depressed most or all of the time over the past 30 days (5.7% vs. 3.6%, respectively, p&lt;0.01) on a single 5-point Likert-scale. SCD indicators did not vary by Veteran sexual orientation (M=19.69 and M=19.69; M=14.2 and M=14.1) and were elevated compared to published studies in healthy adult samples. More work is needed to examine neurocognitive risk factors in aging LGB Veterans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 446-452
Author(s):  
Hua Zan ◽  
Jessie X. Fan

Purpose: To investigate the association between acculturation and physical activity (PA). Design: Cross sectional. Setting: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2003 to 2006. Subjects: A total of 4029 adults (aged 20-64), including 2063 men and 1966 women. Measures: The outcome measures included both self-reported PA and device-assessed PA. The acculturation measure was constructed based on nativity, language use at home, and length of residence in the United States. Analysis: Regressions with domain analysis were conducted to adjust for the influence of confounding factors and complex survey design. Results: For men, self-reported PA increased with acculturation, especially leisure-time PA. However, device-assessed PA decreased with acculturation. For women, the results were more mixed. Conclusion: All evidence considered, we concluded that PA decreased with acculturation for US men.


Author(s):  
David R. Axon ◽  
Jonathan Chien ◽  
Hanh Dinh

This cross-sectional study included a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged ≥50 years with self-reported pain in the past 4 weeks from the 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Adjusted linear regression analyses accounted for the complex survey design and assessed differences in several types of annual health care expenditures between individuals who reported frequent exercise (≥30 min of moderate–vigorous intensity physical activity ≥5 times per week) and those who did not. Approximately 23,940,144 of 56,979,267 older U.S. adults with pain reported frequent exercise. In adjusted analyses, individuals who reported frequent exercise had 15% lower annual prescription medication expenditures compared with those who did not report frequent exercise (p = .007). There were no statistical differences between frequent exercise status for other health care expenditure types (p > .05). In conclusion, adjusted annual prescription medication expenditures were 15% lower among older U.S. adults with pain who reported frequent exercise versus those who did not.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Francis ◽  
Karen Kemper ◽  
Joel Williams ◽  
Liwei Chen

Abstract Objectives Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease which significantly contributes to disability among older adults. Dietary factors are suggested to play a role in preventing OA, however, studies in this area spare. The objective of this study was to assess the association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and OA in American adults. Methods This study included United States (US) adults (≥aged 20 years) who participated NHANES cycles 2007–2016. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score was calculated from nine food items with a higher DASH score indicating better adherence to the DASH dietary pattern. Multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, education, race/ethnicity, household income, smoking, alcohol consumption, and total energy intake were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of DASH with OA. All analyses accounted for the complex survey design. Results Among the 17,349 participants included in this study, 9.05% reported OA. The DASH score was inversely associated with OA. The aOR (95% CI) were 1.00 (ref), 0.09 (0.70, 1.16), and 0.74 (0.58, 0.94) (Ptrend = 0.01) across the DASH score tertiles. When analyses were stratified by BMI categories (normal, overweight, obese) the magnitude of the association was stronger and remained significant only among obese participants (i.e., BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Among participants with an obese BMI, participants with a DASH score in the highest tertile compared to participants with a DASH score in the lowest tertile had a 17% lower likelihood of having OA (P = 0.009). Conclusions In a representative sample of American adults, higher adherence to the DASH dietary pattern was associated with lower likelihood of having OA and this association was particularly evident among obese individuals. Funding Sources N/A. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1362-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Burden ◽  
Yasmine Probst ◽  
David Steel ◽  
Linda Tapsell

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the impact of the complex survey design used in the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (ANCNPAS07) on prevalence estimates for intakes of groups of foods in the population of children.DesignThe impacts on prevalence estimates were determined by calculating design effects for values for food group consumption. The implications of ignoring elements of the sample design including stratification, clustering and weighting are discussed.SettingThe ANCNPAS07 used a complex sample design involving stratification, a high degree of clustering and estimation weights.SubjectsAustralian children aged 2–16 years.ResultsDesign effects ranging from <1 to 5 were found for the values of mean consumption and proportion of the population consuming the food groups. When survey weights were ignored, prevalence estimates were also biased.ConclusionsIgnoring the complex survey design used in the ANCNPAS07 could result in underestimating the width of confidence intervals, higher mean square errors and biased estimators. The magnitude of these effects depends on both the parameter under consideration and the chosen estimator.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Kenny ◽  
Lisa Merry ◽  
Brownbridge A. Douglas ◽  
ML Urquia

Abstract Objectives There is a paucity of research on patterns of cyber-victimization in minority groups, including immigrants. This study aimed at identifying individual, interpersonal and contextual characteristics associated with cyber-victimization among immigrants and non-immigrants.Methods We drew on nationally representative data from adolescents and adults in the Canadian General Social Survey on victimization (2014). Multivariable logistic regression was employed to identify potential factors associated with cyber-victimization in the last 12 months, stratified by immigrant status and sex.Results Among 27,425 survey respondents, the weighted prevalence of cyber-victimization in the last 12 months was 2.1% among immigrants and 2.3% among non-immigrants. Cyber-victimization rates differed significantly by sex among immigrants (2.8% for males vs. 1.4% for females), but not among non-immigrants (2.1% for males vs. 2.4% for females). While most other factors associated with cyber-victimization were similar for immigrants and non-immigrants, we found pronounced associations of past child maltreatment (adjusted prevalence odds ratio [aPOR] 4.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.76, 8.52) and residence in an unwelcoming neighbourhood (aPOR 5.08, 95% CI 2.44, 10.55) with cyber-victimization among immigrants that were diminished or absent among non-immigrants. Additionally, sex-stratified analyses among immigrants showed cyber-victimization to be strongly associated with having a mental health condition (aPOR 3.50, 95% CI 1.36, 8.97) among immigrant males only, and with perceived discrimination (aPOR 4.08, 95% CI 1.65, 10.08), as well as being under 24 years old (aPOR 3.24, 95% CI 1.09, 9.60) among immigrant females.Conclusions Immigration status and sex were differentially associated with cyber-victimization. Findings support the salience of a social-ecological perspective and gender-stratified analyses to better elucidate complex pathways linking cyber-victimization to potential gender-based health inequities among immigrants.


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