A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City.
<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused tremendous loss of life and health but has also greatly disrupted the world economy. The impact of this disruption has been especially harsh in urban settings of developing countries. We estimated the impact of the pandemic on...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297694&type=printable |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846140704996196352 |
|---|---|
| author | Luis F Bautista-Arredondo T Verenice Muñoz-Rocha José Luis Figueroa Martha M Téllez-Rojo Libni A Torres-Olascoaga Alejandra Cantoral Laura Arboleda-Merino Cindy Leung Karen E Peterson Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa |
| author_facet | Luis F Bautista-Arredondo T Verenice Muñoz-Rocha José Luis Figueroa Martha M Téllez-Rojo Libni A Torres-Olascoaga Alejandra Cantoral Laura Arboleda-Merino Cindy Leung Karen E Peterson Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa |
| author_sort | Luis F Bautista-Arredondo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused tremendous loss of life and health but has also greatly disrupted the world economy. The impact of this disruption has been especially harsh in urban settings of developing countries. We estimated the impact of the pandemic on the occurrence of food insecurity in a cohort of women living in Mexico City, and the socioeconomic characteristics associated with food insecurity severity.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed data longitudinally from 685 women in the Mexico City-based ELEMENT cohort. Food insecurity at the household level was gathered using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale and measured in-person during 2015 to 2019 before the pandemic and by telephone during 2020-2021, in the midst of the pandemic. Fluctuations in the average of food insecurity as a function of calendar time were modeled using kernel-weighted local polynomial regression. Fixed and random-effects ordinal logistic regression models of food insecurity were fitted, with timing of data collection (pre-pandemic vs. during pandemic) as the main predictor.<h4>Results</h4>Food insecurity (at any level) increased from 41.6% during the pre-pandemic period to 53.8% in the pandemic stage. This increase was higher in the combined severe-moderate food insecurity levels: from 1.6% pre-pandemic to 16.8% during the pandemic. The odds of severe food insecurity were 3.4 times higher during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels (p<0.01). Socioeconomic status quintile (Q) was significantly related to food insecurity (Q2 OR = 0.35 p<0.1, Q3 OR = 0.48 p = 0.014, Q4 OR = 0.24 p<0.01, and Q5 OR = 0.17 p<0.01), as well as lack of access to social security (OR = 1.69, p = 0.01), and schooling (OR = 0.37, p<0.01).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Food insecurity increased in Mexico City households in the ELEMENT cohort as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results contribute to the body of evidence suggesting that governments should implement well-designed, focalized programs in the context of economic crisis such as the one caused by COVID-19 to prevent families from the expected adverse health and well-being consequences associated to food insecurity, especially for the most vulnerable. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c3bcac556f54747a3ccb37db3c91f23 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c3bcac556f54747a3ccb37db3c91f232024-12-05T05:31:18ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01195e029769410.1371/journal.pone.0297694A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City.Luis F Bautista-ArredondoT Verenice Muñoz-RochaJosé Luis FigueroaMartha M Téllez-RojoLibni A Torres-OlascoagaAlejandra CantoralLaura Arboleda-MerinoCindy LeungKaren E PetersonHéctor Lamadrid-Figueroa<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused tremendous loss of life and health but has also greatly disrupted the world economy. The impact of this disruption has been especially harsh in urban settings of developing countries. We estimated the impact of the pandemic on the occurrence of food insecurity in a cohort of women living in Mexico City, and the socioeconomic characteristics associated with food insecurity severity.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed data longitudinally from 685 women in the Mexico City-based ELEMENT cohort. Food insecurity at the household level was gathered using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale and measured in-person during 2015 to 2019 before the pandemic and by telephone during 2020-2021, in the midst of the pandemic. Fluctuations in the average of food insecurity as a function of calendar time were modeled using kernel-weighted local polynomial regression. Fixed and random-effects ordinal logistic regression models of food insecurity were fitted, with timing of data collection (pre-pandemic vs. during pandemic) as the main predictor.<h4>Results</h4>Food insecurity (at any level) increased from 41.6% during the pre-pandemic period to 53.8% in the pandemic stage. This increase was higher in the combined severe-moderate food insecurity levels: from 1.6% pre-pandemic to 16.8% during the pandemic. The odds of severe food insecurity were 3.4 times higher during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels (p<0.01). Socioeconomic status quintile (Q) was significantly related to food insecurity (Q2 OR = 0.35 p<0.1, Q3 OR = 0.48 p = 0.014, Q4 OR = 0.24 p<0.01, and Q5 OR = 0.17 p<0.01), as well as lack of access to social security (OR = 1.69, p = 0.01), and schooling (OR = 0.37, p<0.01).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Food insecurity increased in Mexico City households in the ELEMENT cohort as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results contribute to the body of evidence suggesting that governments should implement well-designed, focalized programs in the context of economic crisis such as the one caused by COVID-19 to prevent families from the expected adverse health and well-being consequences associated to food insecurity, especially for the most vulnerable.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297694&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Luis F Bautista-Arredondo T Verenice Muñoz-Rocha José Luis Figueroa Martha M Téllez-Rojo Libni A Torres-Olascoaga Alejandra Cantoral Laura Arboleda-Merino Cindy Leung Karen E Peterson Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. PLoS ONE |
| title | A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. |
| title_full | A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. |
| title_fullStr | A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. |
| title_full_unstemmed | A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. |
| title_short | A surge in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort in Mexico City. |
| title_sort | surge in food insecurity during the covid 19 pandemic in a cohort in mexico city |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297694&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luisfbautistaarredondo asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT tverenicemunozrocha asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT joseluisfigueroa asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT marthamtellezrojo asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT libniatorresolascoaga asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT alejandracantoral asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT lauraarboledamerino asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT cindyleung asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT karenepeterson asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT hectorlamadridfigueroa asurgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT luisfbautistaarredondo surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT tverenicemunozrocha surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT joseluisfigueroa surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT marthamtellezrojo surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT libniatorresolascoaga surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT alejandracantoral surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT lauraarboledamerino surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT cindyleung surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT karenepeterson surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity AT hectorlamadridfigueroa surgeinfoodinsecurityduringthecovid19pandemicinacohortinmexicocity |