1. Food Insecurity and Health Care Expenditures in the United States, 2011-2013.
- Author
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Berkowitz, Seth A., Basu, Sanjay, Meigs, James B., and Seligman, Hilary K.
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PUBLIC health , *HEALTH equity , *HEALTH policy , *MEDICAL care costs , *FOOD supply statistics , *MEDICAL care cost statistics , *AGE distribution , *CHRONIC diseases , *INCOME , *LONGITUDINAL method , *RESEARCH funding , *SEX distribution , *RESIDENTIAL patterns , *SOCIOECONOMIC factors , *CROSS-sectional method , *RETROSPECTIVE studies , *ECONOMICS ,PATIENT Protection & Affordable Care Act - Abstract
Objective: To determine whether food insecurity, limited or uncertain food access owing to cost, is associated with greater health care expenditures.Data Source/study Setting: Nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States (2011 National Health Interview Survey [NHIS] linked to 2012-2013 Medication Expenditure Panel Survey [MEPS]).Study Design: Longitudinal retrospective cohort.Data Collection/extraction Methods: A total of 16,663 individuals underwent assessment of food insecurity, using the 10-item adult 30-day food security module, in the 2011 NHIS. Their total health care expenditures in 2012 and 2013 were recorded in MEPS. Expenditure data were analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial regression and adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, insurance, and residence area.Principal Findings: Fourteen percent of individuals reported food insecurity, representing 41,616,255 Americans. Mean annualized total expenditures were $4,113 (standard error $115); 9.2 percent of all individuals had no health care expenditures. In multivariable analyses, those with food insecurity had significantly greater estimated mean annualized health care expenditures ($6,072 vs. $4,208, p < .0001), an extra $1,863 in health care expenditure per year, or $77.5 billion in additional health care expenditure annually.Conclusions: Food insecurity was associated with greater subsequent health care expenditures. Future studies should determine whether food insecurity interventions can improve health and reduce health care costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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