(P20-094-24) Socioeconomic Mobility and Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Findings From the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study

Objectives: To investigate the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) mobility and fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake among adults.

Methods: 935 adults (mean age: 46 ± 12) from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS 1 and 2) longitudinal study were examined. Dietary intake was collected via questionnaire from the biomarker sub-study (MIDUS Wave 2) with a focus on the frequency (≤2, 3-4, and ≥5 servings/day) of consuming F/V. A composite score of childhood SES (C-SES; parent’s education and SES index) and current adulthood SES (A-SES; current education and household income) were constructed. SES mobility was categorized into 7 groups: 1.) Permanent low (lowest C-SES to lowest A-SES), 2.) permanent high (highest C-SES to highest A-SES), 3.) rise low to middle (lowest C-SES to middle A-SES), 4.) permanent middle (middle C-SES to middle A-SES), 5.) drop high to middle (highest C-SES to middle A-SES), 6.) drop to low (middle or highest C-SES to lowest A-SES), 7.) rise to high (middle or lowest C-SES to highest A-SES). Ordered logistic regression (OLS) was used to estimate the odds ratio and binary contrasts method was used to compare the odds ratio among groups. Adjusted model covariates: sex, race, and age.

Results: C-SES and A-SES were positively associated with F/V intake with odds ratios of 6.10 (95% CI: 3.15, 11.81; P< 0.001) and 4.62 (95% CI: 2.52, 8.45; P< 0.001), respectively. The odds of consuming a higher category of F/V were 120% (OR [95% CI]; 2.20 [1.47 3.30]; P=0.001) higher for individuals in the permanent high group and 52% (0.48; [0.33, 0.72]; P=0.001) lower for permanent low group compared to other SES mobility groups. Similarly, the odds of consuming a higher category of F/V for the drop to low group were 46% (0.54; [0.37, 0.80]; P=0.002) lower and 50% (1.50 [1.04, 2.14]; p=0.03) higher for drop high to middle groups than other SES mobility groups. No significant associations were observed for the other SES mobility groups.

Conclusions: Maintaining a higher SES or dropping from high childhood SES to middle SES in adulthood was associated with higher F/V intake, but upward SES mobility (rise to high) did not exhibit a corresponding higher adult F/V intake. Furthermore, participants dropping to the lowest level of adult SES had similar adult F/V intake to those that maintained a lower SES from childhood to adulthood.

Funding Sources: None