Food Insecurity in Households of Patients with Hypertension and Diabetes

Background: People living in households with food insecurity typically have a monotonous diet, low in complex carbohydrates and rich in simple sugars and fats. Such condition associated with obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HA) compromises the quality of life and contributes to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality, especially from cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: To evaluate cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in patients with HA and/or diabetes mellitus and its relationship with the socioeconomic status and the situation of food insecurity (IA) in households. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Patients evaluated: (In) household food security according to the Brazilian Scale of food insecurity (EBIA): Mild, moderate and severe FI; economic status and CVRF. We used the chi-square test, bivariate logistic regression, OR with 95% CI and p≤0.05. Results: The study included 225 patients: 74.0% (n=166) hypertensive (M), 18.0% (n=41) diabetic hypertensive (HD) and 8.0% (n=18) diabetic patients (D); 80.9% were women, mean age 60.3±11.19 years and 64.0% belonging to the economy class D. The patients resided in households in FI: 78.0% of H, 73.0% of HD and 78.0% of D. The frequency of CVRF among individuals in FI was high: 92.0% hypertension, 80.0% hypercholesterolemia, 79.0% hyperglycemia, 76.0% overweight/obesity, 73.0% abdominal obesity and 72.0% hypertriglyceridemia. There was a positive association between FI and hypertension (p=0.034), abdominal obesity (p=0.009) and hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.001). Conclusions: The predominant unsafe condition in the households of the population studied represents an additional risk factor, since the difficulty of access to healthy food both in quantitative and quality terms compromises the treatment and control of these diseases.