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Food Insecurity Among Cancer Patients in Kentucky: A Pilot Study

Department of Family Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; and Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

PURPOSE: Food insecurity is defined as being uncertain of having enough food due to insufficient money or other resources. The purpose of this study was to examine the construct and correlates of food insecurity in a sample of cancer patients in Kentucky.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected in the waiting rooms of the chemotherapy, hematology/oncology, and gynecology/oncology clinics of a university cancer center, and included 115 cancer patients actively receiving treatment (mean age, 55.85 years; range, 23 to 88 years) who completed a series of standardized measures to assess food insecurity status and psychological and nutritional well-being. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t tests were used to assess the prevalence of food insecurity in the sample, and to identify differences between the persons who were food insecure and food secure.

RESULTS: The prevalence rates of food insecurity and food insecurity with hunger in the sample were 17.4% and 7.8%, respectively, which are higher than in the general population. Food-insecure patients had statistically significant higher levels of nutritional risk, depression, and financial strain, and lower quality of life compared with food secure patients. Fifty-five percent of food insecure patients reported not taking a prescribed medication because they could not afford it, versus 12.8% of food-secure patients (P = .002).

CONCLUSION: Food insecurity may be an important consideration for clinical oncology practice, especially when caring for individuals of lower socioeconomic status. Further study is warranted, including prospective studies of cancer patients to identify causal relationships among food insecurity, cancer incidence, cancer treatments, and patient outcomes and well-being.

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