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Food insecurity and risk of poor health among US-born children of immigrants
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Food insecurity and risk of poor health among US-born children of immigrants

Mariana Chilton, Maureen M Black, Carol Berkowitz, Patrick H Casey, John Cook, Diana Cutts, Ruth Rose Jacobs, Timothy Heeren, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Sharon Coleman, …
American journal of public health (1971), v 99(3), pp 556-562
Mar 2009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.144394
PMID: 19106417
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
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https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.144394View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Multivariate Analysis United States Humans Risk Factors Logistic Models Male Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data Food Supply - statistics & numerical data Socioeconomic Factors Nutrition Assessment Child Welfare - statistics & numerical data Adult Female Nutritional Status Child Poverty - statistics & numerical data
We investigated the risk of household food insecurity and reported fair or poor health among very young children who were US citizens and whose mothers were immigrants compared with those whose mothers had been born in the United States. Data were obtained from 19,275 mothers (7216 of whom were immigrants) who were interviewed in hospital-based settings between 1998 and 2005 as part of the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program. We examined whether food insecurity mediated the association between immigrant status and child health in relation to length of stay in the United States. The risk of fair or poor health was higher among children of recent immigrants than among children of US-born mothers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.55; P < .03). Immigrant households were at higher risk of food insecurity than were households with US-born mothers. Newly arrived immigrants were at the highest risk of food insecurity (OR = 2.45; 95% CI = 2.16, 2.77; P < .001). Overall, household food insecurity increased the risk of fair or poor child health (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.57, 1.93; P < .001) and mediated the association between immigrant status and poor child health. Children of immigrant mothers are at increased risk of fair or poor health and household food insecurity. Policy interventions addressing food insecurity in immigrant households may promote child health.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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