Food insecurity among adult females with a history of breast cancer compared to adult females without cancer in the USA.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among females with a history of breast cancer compared to females without cancer in the USA and the sociodemographic characteristics that may explain their FI.

METHODS

Using the 2019 National Health Interview (NHIS) survey that included the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) 10-item Household Food Security Survey Module, participants with high/moderate food security were considered food secure and low/very low food security were considered food insecure. Analyses accounted for complex survey design and included descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multivariate regression analyses.

RESULTS

Eligible females (40+ years old) included 557 with a history of breast cancer and 9678 without a cancer history. FI was experienced by an estimated 4.4% of females with breast cancer, compared to 9.3% of females without cancer. Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, education level, general health status, and body mass index, the prevalence ratio between the two study groups was 0.50 (95% CI 0.33-0.78).

CONCLUSIONS

In this national sample, the prevalence of FI among females with a history breast cancer was lower than females without a history of cancer.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: FI is low among breast cancer survivors, and routine FI screening among breast cancer survivors may not be warranted for all patients. Healthcare providers, however, should be aware of FI as a social determinant of health and consider it when there are known financial issues among cancer survivors.