Disability, food insecurity by nativity, citizenship, and duration

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Previous studies focused on disability or food insecurity separately in immigrant populations.
• Understanding the intersection of disability and food insecurity is crucial for vulnerable groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if disability is a stronger predictor of food insecurity among prime-aged immigrants compared to US-born adults.
• To analyze how duration of US residence and citizenship status modify the disability-food insecurity relationship in immigrants.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Probit models to estimate the association between disability and food insecurity.
• Employed nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999-2014.
• Differentiated analyses by immigrant duration of US residence and citizenship status.

Main Results:

• Food insecurity was most prevalent among non-citizen immigrants residing in the US longer.
• The association between disability and food insecurity was stronger for Hispanic immigrants than US-born Hispanics.
• This disability-food insecurity link varied significantly based on citizenship status and length of US residence.

Conclusions:

• Disability is a significant predictor of food insecurity among immigrants, with effects modulated by citizenship and duration of residence.
• Findings underscore the necessity of disaggregating data by citizenship status and duration of US residence for targeted interventions.
• Immigrant-specific factors influence the complex relationship between disability and food insecurity.