Study: Food insecurity should be considered in CKD treatment
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In a study in which more than 70% of patients with chronic kidney disease reported food insecurity, researchers emphasized the consideration that should be placed on access to food in CKD treatment.
“The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has substantially affected the way of life of the general population. The distribution, availability and access to food, and even the food security of households around the world, have all changed,” Cristina Vargas-Vázquez, BD, RD, from the nephrology and mineral metabolism department at the National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán” in Mexico, and colleagues wrote. “The present study evaluates the prevalence of different degrees of food insecurity and their association with sociodemographic and dietary factors, as well as their impact during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.”
In a cross-sectional study, researchers evaluated 588 adults with CKD, some with and some without renal replacement therapy, between May and October 2021.
Researchers used the Mexican Food Security Scale (MFSS) to measure food security as the following categories: food security, mild food insecurity, moderate food insecurity and severe food insecurity. Patients completed a food frequency questionnaire consisting of 12 yes-or-no questions that were ordered from least to greatest severity.
Using the four categories of food security, researchers conducted logistic regression. Additionally, researchers performed a principal component analysis to measure the correlation between food consumption patterns and sociodemographic characteristics.
Analyses revealed more than 70% of patients experienced some degree of food insecurity, with modest insecurity being the most prevalent. Households reported consuming more beans, eggs, sweets/desserts, soft drinks and artificial juice as food insecurity increased, whereas households with food security reported higher consumption of vegetables, fruits and meats.
Researchers identified diabetes, hypertension, unpaid occupation, living in the country’s capital, having children at home or a decrease in income due to the pandemic as risk factors of food insecurity.
“Renal health professionals need to include an assessment of the presence of food insecurity of their patients in their daily professional practice. The results of these assessments could help improve the implementation of programs that provide food and/or nutritional support to vulnerable populations, which include patients with CKD,” Vargas-Vázquez and colleagues wrote. They added, “In conclusion, the present study allowed us to conclude that more than 70% of CKD patients in the study cohort had some type of food insecurity, which makes it difficult to adhere to treatment and may increase the risk of advanced CKD.”
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