Lakshmi Reddi Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer | nmsu.edu
Lakshmi Reddi Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer | nmsu.edu
Two public health researchers at New Mexico State University are investigating the long-term effects of food insecurity on American adults with chronic diseases. Jagdish Khubchandani and Karen Kopera-Frye, both professors of public health sciences at NMSU’s College of Health, Education and Social Transformation, have conducted studies using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In their first study, involving over 30,000 adults aged 20 years and older across the nation, they examined how food insecurity impacts those with colorectal cancer. Published in Gastrointestinal Disorders, their findings indicate that while colorectal cancer alone may not significantly increase premature mortality risk, when combined with food insecurity, there is a 4.13 times higher risk for any cause of death and a 9.57 times increased risk for heart disease-related deaths upon prolonged follow-up.
“Colorectal cancers are among the leading causes of death among U.S. adults, claiming more than 50,000 lives every year,” Khubchandani stated. He added that cancer is debilitating by itself but worsens when coupled with food insecurity.
Kopera-Frye emphasized that healthcare practitioners should be aware of the growing issue of food insecurity among individuals with chronic diseases like cancers. “Unfortunately, those suffering from food insecurity are the most highly impacted,” she said.
Their second study focused on over 10,000 adult Americans with chronic kidney diseases as an example condition leading to premature death when paired with long-term food insecurity. This research was published in a special issue of Nutrire. The study found that chronic kidney diseases alone increased death risk by 1.37 times; however, chronic food insecurity raised this risk by an additional 2.28 times.
Khubchandani highlighted that over 100 million Americans have at least one major chronic disease and criticized the current healthcare model's effectiveness in managing these conditions alongside issues like food insecurity: “The health care model is clearly not helpful enough.”
He suggested a comprehensive approach to managing chronic diseases that includes addressing patients' social and economic needs: “Nearly a tenth of adults in the U.S. are food insecure every year, and prescribing medications alone will not help,” he noted.
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