Food Insecurity Is Common in the Orthopaedic Trauma Population

Food insecurity is the condition of limited access to healthy and safe food. Malnutrition resulting from food insecurity is a concern particularly in the surgical population due to the association with impaired healing. This aim of this study was to report the incidence and risk factors for food insecurity in the orthopaedic trauma population.

Orthopaedic trauma centers at three distinct regions of the United States enrolled patients who had undergone extremity or pelvis fracture fixation within the previous 6 months. Participants completed the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Insecurity Survey, and food insecurity was defined as a score ≥3. In addition, participants recorded patient demographics and injury/treatment/household characteristics and completed information about diet quality. Diet quality was compared between households with and without food insecurity using chi-square or Fisher exact tests. Logistic regression was used to create a multivariable model of factors associated with greater odds of food insecurity.

Food insecurity was documented in 11.5% (81/703) of households. Households with food insecurity were less likely to report daily consumption of fruit, vegetables, and protein-rich foods. We found a greater odds of food insecurity among households with a yearly income of <$50,000 (odds ratio = 4.30 [95% confidence interval = 2.07 to 8.92], P < 0.001), tobacco use (2.33 [1.26 to 4.28], P = 0.007), Medicaid or no insurance (2.34 [1.19 to 4.62], P = 0.014), and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (4.55 [1.69 to 12.24], P = 0.003), for each 10-year decrease in age (1.19 [1.00 to 1.40], P = 0.045), multiple surgically treated fractures (2.41 [1.08 to 5.35], P = 0.031), and for each additional 15 minutes of travel time to the nearest grocery store (2.12 [1.37 to 3.26], P < 0.001).

Food insecurity is common in the orthopaedic trauma population, and households with food insecurity are more likely to have low diet quality. Nutrition supplementation during the healing phase after trauma and referral to nutrition assistance programs has the potential to mitigate malnutrition and prevent negative outcomes resulting from food insecurity.