Associations of organic produce consumption with socioeconomic status and the local food environment: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

• Published in: PloS one 2013-07, Vol.8 (7), p.e69778
• Main Authors: Curl, Cynthia L, Beresford, Shirley A A, Hajat, Anjum, Kaufman, Joel D, Moore, Kari, Nettleton, Jennifer A, Diez-Roux, Ana V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Agriculture; Arteriosclerosis; Asian Americans - statistics & numerical data; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - ethnology; Atherosclerosis - prevention & control; China; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Decision analysis; Demographics; Diet; Education; Educational Status; Environment; Ethnic factors; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food availability; Food consumption; Food, Organic; Fruit; Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Income; Male; Medicine; Middle Aged; Natural & organic foods; Neighborhoods; Pesticides; Prevalence; Regression Analysis; Regression models; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Social Class; Socio-economic aspects; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; Studies; Supermarkets; United States - epidemiology; Vegetables; Womens health
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069778

Neighborhood characteristics, such as healthy food availability, have been associated with consumption of healthy food. Little is known about the influence of the local food environment on other dietary choices, such as the decision to consume organic food. We analyzed the associations between organic produce consumption and demographic, socioeconomic and neighborhood characteristics in 4,064 participants aged 53-94 in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis using log-binomial regression models. Participants were classified as consuming organic produce if they reported eating organic fruits and vegetables either "sometimes" or "often or always". Women were 21% more likely to consume organic produce than men (confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-1.30), and the likelihood of organic produce consumption was 13% less with each additional 10 years of age (CI: 0.84-0.91). Participants with higher education were significantly more likely to consume organic produce (prevalence ratios [PR] were 1.05 with a high school education, 1.39 with a bachelor's degree and 1.68 with a graduate degree, with less than high school as the reference group [1.00]). Per capita household income was marginally associated with produce consumption (p = 0.06), with the highest income category more likely to consume organic produce. After adjustment for these individual factors, organic produce consumption was significantly associated with self-reported assessment of neighborhood produce availability (PR: 1.07, CI: 1.02-1.11), with an aggregated measure of community perception of the local food environment (PR: 1.08, CI: 1.00-1.17), and, to a lesser degree, with supermarket density (PR: 1.02: CI: 0.99-1.05). This research suggests that both individual-level characteristics and qualities of the local food environment are associated with having a diet that includes organic food.