Association between food insecurity and quality of life among older adults (60+) in six low and middle-income countries

The impact of food insecurity on mental health among older adults residing in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

Over the past few years, food insecurity has been increasing globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, economic downturns and conflict and a number of other intersecting factors. Older adults residing in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to food insecurity. While the impacts of food insecurity on physical health outcomes have been thoroughly researched, the effect on mental health outcomes remains under-researched, especially among older adults. Hence, this systematic review aims to investigate existing literature to assess how food insecurity impacts the mental health of older persons residing in LMICs. A systematic search of six databases and Google for studies was conducted. The search was limited to studies written in English and published between 2000 to the present. We identified 725 studies, out of which 40 studies were selected for a full-text review and 12 studies were included for a final analysis. The significant finding in all the included studies was that food insecurity is associated with the worsening mental health of older adults. We also found a complex interplay of factors such as gender, age, rural/urban and health conditions associated with the aggravation of several mental health outcomes. The findings of this study illuminate the need for improved food programs to improve food security and, consequently, mental health among older adults.

Trends in Recurring and Chronic Food Insecurity Among US Families With Older Adults

Importance

Food insecurity is a critical social determinant of health for older adults. Understanding national food insecurity trends among families with older adults has important policy implications.

Objective

To compare food insecurity trends among US families with an older adult from 1999 to 2003 and 2015 to 2019 and further stratify the analysis by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status markers, and enrollment in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this cohort study using biennial data from the nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics, balanced panels of families with at least 1 older adult (≥60 years) who participated from 1999 to 2003 (n = 1311) and 2015 to 2019 (n = 2268) were created. Analysis was completed in 2023.

Main outcome

Food insecurity was assessed using the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Within each 5-year period, we defined recurring food insecurity as 2 or more episodes of food insecurity and chronic food insecurity as 3 episodes of food insecurity.

Results

Overall, food insecurity among US families with older adults increased from 12.5% in 1999 to 2003 to 23.1% in 2015 to 2019. Rates of recurring food insecurity more than doubled (5.6% to 12.6%), whereas rates of chronic food insecurity more than tripled (2.0% to 6.3%). Across both time periods, higher rates of food insecurity persisted among Black and Hispanic families, with lower socioeconomic status, and participating in SNAP.

Conclusions and Relevance

These results highlight how rates of recurring and chronic food insecurity among families with older adults rose substantially over the past 20 years. Monitoring national trends in food insecurity among older adults has direct programmatic and policy implications.

Disposition of improving quality of life in older adults: the case of Lithuania

BACKGROUND

Quality of life is a phenomenon that recently required lots of concern, especially for older adults, since healthy aging and longevity have become the focus in life. Most research on the quality of life addresses certain issues of older people having special diseases, health problems, and disorders. Our research is based on holistic quality of life empowering multiple areas of life/domains of older adults without addressing their diseases or health disorders.

AIM

Our research aims at evaluating the quality of life of the research participants (older people), addressing their problematic areas and suggestions for better quality of life.

METHODS

The conducted research implied mixed methods as quantitative survey and reflection based on interviews. We chose participants from the III age university and the ongoing project "Healthy Aging Program".

RESULTS

The research results showed the lowest ratings for emotional and physical health and the highest rating for social health. Also, older adults tend to avoid specifying precise measures to improve their quality of life and demonstrate a more conservative stance regarding the implementation of more radical changes in improving water consumption, exercising, meal planning, and enhancing psychosocial well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall quality of life rating was lower than the average. Older adults are not sufficiently prepared or educated to make significant changes to develop healthier habits in their quality-of-life improvement, though, they demonstrate concern about their quality of life.

Food Insecurity during the Pandemic in South Korea: The Effects of University Students' Perceived Food Insecurity on Psychological Well-Being, Self-Efficacy, and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the impact of university students' perceptions of food insecurity on psychological well-being, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction and observed that the students' gender plays a moderating role in this causal relationship, based on a total of 491 university students who participated in this empirical study. This study used SPSS (Version 22.0) and AMOS (Version 20.0) for the analyses. This study examines the structural relationship of this causal model. Our findings suggest that students' perceived food insecurity negatively affects the status of their psychological well-being and self-efficacy. However, contrary to expectations, perceived food insecurity has no negative effects on students' life satisfaction. In addition, the level of students' psychological well-being positively influences their life satisfaction, while self-efficacy does not. The moderating effects of gender differences in this research were also disclosed. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.