Elderly's Food Security and Its Associated Socioeconomic Determinants in Tehran: A Cross-Sectional Study Publisher



Alipour V¹ ; Rezapour A¹ ; Shali M² ; Harati Khalilabad T¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Health Science Reports Published:2021

Abstract

Introduction: Food security as a component of the fundamental foundation in the elderly's health was a priority in the 20-year vision development plan of the country. The main goal of the present study was to determine the elderly food security status and its influential factors in the city of Tehran, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000 people age over 60 from Tehran city capital of Iran in 2018. A validated short questionnaire with six and nine questions used to measure the food security and socioeconomic status of the elderly, respectively. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression model. Results: The findings revealed that 39.1% of the investigated elderly were facing food insecurity, 59% had chronic diseases, and 13% of them had no insurance coverage. Elderly with monthly income ≤ 10 million Iranian rial (odds ratio [OR] = 3.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.61-4.48), who had chronic diseases (OR = 3.54, 95% CI = 1.94-6.62), and had a diploma degree or less (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.4-3.72) were more likely to be food insecure. Conclusion: Expanding social security insurance for the elderly besides financial support, reforming inappropriate food habits, and increasing elderly’ nutritional awareness can be effective in promoting food security for the aging population of this country. © 2021 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.