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Food Insecurity, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and
Ye Luo1, Miao Li1, Zhenmei Zhang2
1Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
Nutrients
|January 28, 2026
Summary
Food insecurity negatively impacts cognitive function, but participation in the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) helps mitigate these effects, particularly for memory and processing speed.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Public Health
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Food insecurity may negatively impact cognitive function via nutritional deficits, stress, and health issues.
- Longitudinal studies on food insecurity and cognition are limited by confounding factors.
- The moderating role of the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) in this association is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal relationship between food insecurity and cognitive function.
- To determine if SNAP participation buffers the negative effects of food insecurity on cognition.
- To analyze effects on overall cognition, episodic memory, and attention/mental processing.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 30,641 older adults (≥50 years) in the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2020).
- Employed marginal structural models (MSMs) with stabilized inverse probability of treatment weights to address time-varying confounding.
- Weighted pooled linear regression models estimated marginal associations and interaction effects.
Main Results:
- Moderate and high food insecurity were significantly associated with lower overall cognition, episodic memory, and attention/mental processing.
- SNAP participation substantially attenuated these negative associations across all cognitive domains.
- Buffering effects of SNAP were more pronounced among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic participants, equivalent to several years of cognitive aging.
Conclusions:
- Food insecurity is linked to diminished cognitive function in multiple domains.
- SNAP participation plays a crucial role in mitigating the adverse cognitive effects of food insecurity.
- Findings underscore the importance of food assistance programs in reducing cognitive health disparities in older adults.
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