Table 1 Descriptive characteristics by household food security status among US older adults attending National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2012
|  | Total n = 3,375 | Food security n = 2,424 | Marginal food security n = 385 | Food insecurity n = 566 | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
Age (years) |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 60–64 | 862 (23.8) | 512 (21.3) | 135 (31.7) | 215 (35.1) |  |
 65–69 | 676 (19.8) | 450 (18.9) | 83 (20.3) | 143 (26.0) |  |
 70–74 | 629 (18.7) | 468 (19) | 79 (22.4) | 82 (13.9) |  |
 75–79 | 502 (14.7) | 391 (15.4) | 47 (11.8) | 64 (11.7) |  |
 ≥80 | 706 (23.0) | 603 (25.4) | 41 (13.7) | 62 (13.3) |  |
Sex | Â | Â | Â | Â | 0.55 |
 Male | 1599 (40.5) | 1160 (40.9) | 180 (38.7) | 259 (39.6) |  |
 Female | 1776 (59.5) | 1264 (59.1) | 205 (61.3) | 307 (60.4) |  |
Race/ethnicity |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 Non-Hispanic White | 1598 (72.9) | 1335 (78.7) | 114 (51.4) | 149 (47.7) |  |
 Non-Hispanic Black | 754 (11.3) | 484 (9) | 116 (22.3) | 154 (19.5) |  |
 Hispanic | 821 (10.3) | 468 (7.3) | 130 (20.4) | 223 (23.4) |  |
 Other | 202 (5.6) | 137 (5) | 25 (5.9) | 40 (9.4) |  |
Education |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 <12 years | 1501 (34.6) | 958 (30.2) | 202 (46.7) | 341 (56.2) |  |
 High school diploma or equivalent | 855 (30.4) | 659 (32.4) | 78 (23.9) | 118 (21.5) |  |
 Some college | 702 (24.0) | 536 (25.1) | 79 (20.6) | 87 (18.5) |  |
 College graduate | 317 (11.0) | 271 (12.3) | 26 (8.8) | 20 (3.8) |  |
Marital status |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 Married or living with a partner | 1715 (54.5) | 1305 (57.5) | 173 (45.1) | 237 (40.5) |  |
 Never married | 186 (4.4) | 119 (4.2) | 28 (6.4) | 39 (5.1) |  |
 Separated, widowed, or divorced | 1474 (41.1) | 1000 (38.3) | 184 (48.5) | 290 (54.4) |  |
SNAP participation (< 130% FPL) |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 Non-participant | 2708 (85.8) | 2130 (91.6) | 243 (63.3) | 335 (61.2) |  |
 SNAP participant | 664 (14.2) | 93 (8.4) | 140 (36.7) | 231 (38.8) |  |
Poverty income ratio |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 0–100% FPL | 921 (19.3) | 501 (14.1) | 152 (36.3) | 268 (43.3) |  |
 >100–130% FPL | 622 (16.0) | 404 (14.2) | 82 (18.9) | 136 (25.7) |  |
 >130–200% FPL | 911 (28.9) | 716 (30.7) | 84 (3.2) | 111 (20.3) |  |
 >200–250% FPL | 531 (20.3) | 451 (23.0) | 51 (14.2) | 29 (5.6) |  |
 >250–300% FPL | 390 (15.6) | 352 (18.0) | 16 (7.4) | 22 (5.2) |  |
Days of poor physical health/ month |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 0 days | 1882 (61.2) | 1448 (64.3) | 201 (59.2) | 233 (41.1) |  |
 1–5 days | 435 (15.1) | 286 (14.4) | 45 (13.4) | 104 (21.4) |  |
 6–15 days | 343 (10.7) | 228 (9.8) | 43 (11.2) | 72 (15.4) |  |
 16–30 days | 447 (13) | 278 (11.5) | 53 (15.2) | 116 (22.1) |  |
Days of poor mental health/ month |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 0 days | 2180 (68.6) | 1642 (70.6) | 221 (61.0) | 317 (59.7) |  |
 1–5 days | 439 (15.3) | 313 (15.9) | 54 (16.1) | 72 (11.1) |  |
 6–15 days | 229 (7.7) | 145 (6.9) | 26 (9.8) | 58 (12.2) |  |
 16–30 days | 262 (8.4) | 143 (6.7) | 42 (13.0) | 77 (17.0) |  |
Days felt worried, tense, or anxious/ month |  |  |  |  | < 0.0001* |
 0 days | 1706 (54.0) | 1339 (57.4) | 165 (46.4) | 202 (35.2) |  |
 1–5 days | 706 (23.6) | 486 (23.1) | 89 (27.7) | 131 (23.8) |  |
 6–15 days | 324 (10.7) | 208 (9.8) | 35 (10.9) | 81 (16.7) |  |
 16–30 days | 371 (11.8) | 209 (9.7) | 53 (15.0) | 109 (24.3) |  |