Food insecurity is associated with diabetes self‐care behaviours and glycaemic control

AIMS: Food insecurity is the 'limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods'. Our objective was to examine the association between food insecurity, diabetes self-care and glycaemic control. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from adult patients with Type 2 diabetes who were enrolled in a randomized trial evaluating a health literacy-focused diabetes intervention in safety net primary care clinics in middle Tennessee. Food insecurity was assessed with three items from the U.S. Household Food Security Survey. Diabetes self-care behaviours were assessed with the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale, Personal Diabetes Questionnaire and Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale. Glycaemic control was assessed with HbA1c . RESULTS: The sample consisted of 401 participants, 73% of whom reported some level of food insecurity. Food insecurity was significantly associated with self-care behaviours including less adherence to a general diet [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 0.9, P = 0.02], less physical activity (AOR 0.9, P = 0.04) and with a greater occurrence of medication non-adherence (AOR 1.2, P = 0.002) and calorie restriction (AOR 1.1, P = 0.02). Food insecurity was also associated with worse glycaemic control (adjusted β = 0.1, P = 0.03). None of the self-care behaviours were significantly associated with HbA1c , limiting the ability to test for self-care as a mechanism linking food insecurity to glycaemic control. CONCLUSIONS: There was a high rate of food insecurity in a sample of patients with Type 2 diabetes who were of low socio-economic status. Food insecurity was associated with less adherence to recommended self-care behaviours and worse glycaemic control.