| The associations between food insecurity and lipid profile and atherogenic indices were assessed.
Food insecurity data were collected through the short form of the Household Food Security
Scale. The serum levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein
(HDL) were measured and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level, TC/HDL, and log (TG/HDL) were
calculated. The analysis of variance and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. There
was a significant difference in the mean TC/HDL and log (TG/HDL) ratios between men in different
categories of food security. The mean TC/HDL cholesterol level was significantly higher in men in
the low food secure group (P = .03). Among women, the mean level of TC/HDL in the very low
food secure group was significantly higher than that in 2 other categories (P = .04). According to
the results of logistic regression, very low food secure men compared with food secure men were
more likely to have lower level of HDL cholesterol (2.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06–7.12)
and higher ratio of log (TG/HDL) (3.03, 95% CI: 1.17–7.58). Compared with the food secure
group, very low food secure women were more likely to have higher level of TG values (2.55, 95%
CI: 1.01–6.45). The association observed between food insecurity and dyslipidemia strengthens
the growing evidence that food insecurity may be a marker of poor overall health. |