LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATION OF FOOD INSECURITY AND MOBILITY LIMITATIONS AMONG US OLDER ADULTS

• Published in: Innovation in aging 2024-12, Vol.8 (Supplement_1), p.1326-1326
• Main Authors: Dhakal, Usha, Asmar, Khalil El, de Leon, Carlos Mendes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igae098.4233

Food insecurity among older adults is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including cognitive impairment, poor mental health, and mortality. The role of food insecurity in impairments in functional status, such as mobility limitations, remains unclear. Therefore, we used weighted generalized linear models to investigate the association between food insecurity and mobility limitations. Considering the 2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) wave as the baseline, we extracted data from an HRS subsample who completed the 2013 Health Care and Nutrition Study (n=6476) and three additional HRS waves through 2020. Mobility limitations scores were based on five items (range:0-5); higher scores indicated more limitations. Food insecurity scores were derived from a validated scale of food access and availability. On average, older adults had difficulty performing at least one mobility task at baseline, and their mobility limitations score increased by 0.5 points per year. After adjustment for demographic and socio-economic factors, greater food insecurity was significantly associated with greater mobility limitations at baseline (β=0.19, 95%CI[.15,.23], p