Nutrition-Related and Self-Rated Health Outcomes Among Lottery-Assigned Residents and Individuals Waitlisted for Subsidized Rental Units in Chinatown, Boston, MA.

Background

Housing is a social determinant of health. In 2015, a lottery assigned low-income families from a waitlist to a new subsidized building (NSB) in Chinatown, Boston, MA. In 2019-2020, we explored associations between housing status (NSB or being on waitlist) and self-rated physical and mental health; household food insecurity (FI); weekly consumption of fruits/vegetables (FV), weekly consumption of soda, and monthly consumption of fast food.

Methods

Surveys were sent to NSB (n = 95) and waitlist (n = 2498) households. Logistic and linear regressions explored associations between housing status and outcomes of interest. Models were adjusted for age, sex, Asian background, household size, education, income, employment and distance to the closest food store.

Results

A total of 138 respondents completed the survey (NSB = 36, waitlist = 102). Groups were demographically similar. In terms of self-reported health, most respondents reported good/better physical health (Waitlist: 62%, NSB: 60%) and good/better mental health (Waitlist: 68%, NSB: 74%). FI was prevalent among both waitlist households (63%) and NSB households (56%). FV intake was similar among NSB households (13.5 times/week) compared to waitlist households (12.8 times/week). The NSB group reported similar soda consumption (1.7 times/week) compared to the waitlist group (2.3 times/week), along with similar fast-food consumption (NSB: 2.7 times/month, Waitlist: 3.7 times/month). We found no statistically significant associations between housing status and outcomes of interest after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusions

In this small sample, outcomes were not significantly different between groups. Future studies should explore mechanisms through which NSB residence affects nutrition and health, particularly in minority populations.