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Session: Contributions of Food Insecurity in Adulthood to Nutrition and Health Disparities (Oral 1)

(OR01-03-24) Associations Between Food Insufficiency, SNAP Participation Status, and Variability of Nutritional Status in Older Adults: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

Saturday, June 29, 2024
3:24 PM – 3:36 PM CT
Location:  W375B

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Muzi Na, PhD, MHS

    Associate Professor
    The Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Penny M. Kris-Etherton, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences
    The Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

  • MS

    Martin J. Sliwinski

    The Pennsylvania State University, United States

Objectives: The study aims to understand how food insecurity experience and SNAP participation influence the long-term trajectory of nutritional status in older adults.

Methods: Data of 3,897 eligible older adults ( >= 65 y) in the National Health and Aging Trends Study cohort (2012 -2021) were analyzed. At baseline, participants’ food insufficiency status (FI) and SNAP status were defined and the number of years with food insufficiency experience (nFI) over follow up were calculated. Three intrapersonal variability indices (SD, CV, RMSE) and four pattern categories (stable, loss, gain and cycling) were defined for weight, BMI, and waist circumference (WC), respectively. The partial proportional odds generalized ordered logit models and multinomial logistic regression models were constructed to associated FI status, nFI, and SNAP status, in relation to quartiles of variability indices and pattern categories, respectively, adjusting for demographic, socio-economic, and disease covariates.

Results: Per one-unit increase of the nFI, older adults were significantly more likely to be in the higher quartiles of variability in BMI (OR: 1.08 – 1.10), weight (OR = 1.14-1.15), and for most WC indices (OR = 1.11 – 1.27). Compared to eligible nonparticipants, SNAP participants were not different in any of the variability metrics. Ineligible non-participants had lower variability in BMI, weight, and WC assessed by SD and CV (OR ranges 0.70 – 0.76). Compared to the stable group, older adults with FI at baseline were 2.72 times (95%CI: 1.32, 5.58) more likely to be in the weight gain group. The relative risk of being in the loss (RRR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.06, 1.56), gain (RRR = 1.34, 95%CI: 1.09, 1.65) or cycling group (RRR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.21) versus the stable group were all increased per one-unit increase in nFI. SNAP participants did not differ from eligible nonparticipants in the BMI, weight, or WC patterns.

Conclusions: Food insecurity experience, particularly when repeated over time, increases the variability of nutritional status in older adults. Among eligible older adults, SNAP alone may not be sufficient to prevent substantial changes in BMI, weight, or WC over time. Additional interventions are needed to stabilize nutritional status, which is critical for healthy aging and better health outcomes.

Funding Sources: None