Food Insecurity among Elderly in Tehran: Prevalence, Risk and Protective Factors

Food insecurity is a major public health problem, especially among older adults living in developing countries. The present study aimed at examining the prevalence, and risk and protective factors for severe food insecurity among elderly in Tehran, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, 384 elderly people aged 60 years and older were selected from five different socioeconomic zones in Tehran, 2019, using multi-stage sampling. Food security status was assessed by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Data were analyzed using simple and multiple logistic regression models in SPSS.

Among the people investigated, 37.8% were completely food secure, 24.1% were found with mild food insecurity, 22.7% reported moderate food insecurity, and 15.2% were severely food insecure. Low levels of physical activity (OR=8.7, CI 95%: 2.96-25.57), low educational levels (OR=6.15, CI 95%: 1.54-24.64), low monthly income (OR=5.63, CI 95%: 2.71-11.67), low levels of social capital (OR=3.13, CI 95%: 1.09-9.03), having oral and dental diseases (OR=2.51, CI 95%: 1.02-6.17), and male gender (OR=1.92, CI 95%: 0.89-4.11) were the risk factors, while having more children (OR=0.26, CI 95%: 0.04-1.36) was the protective factor for severe food insecurity in elderly. The predictors entered into the model could explain between 44.2% and 60.3% of the variance of the outcome.

Only one-third of the elderly were adequately food secure. Current findings could be beneficial in designing and implementing early interventions to provide food security for the elderly.