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FOOD INSECURITY AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS
Boeun Kim, Sarah L. Szanton, Roland J. Thorpe, Deidra Crews, Laura J Samuel. Innovation in Aging, 2022-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Abstract Food insecurity, defined as limited access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods due to social and economic conditions, has adverse effects on physical health and well-being. However, it remains unclear whether food insecurity accelerates cognitive decline in older adults. This study examined the association of food insecurity with cognitive decline. We analyzed data from 4,508 community-dwelling participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) collected from 2011 to 2020, a prospective cohort study of a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 years and older. Food insecurity was measured using 5 items within functional, social support, and financial limitations domains. Immediate and delayed recall were assessed by a 10-item word-list memory task (range: 0—10). Executive function was evaluated by the Clock Drawing Test (range: 0—5). Each year’s cognitive functions were linked to the prior year’s food insecurity values. Weighted linear mixed effect models were fitted. Prevalence of food insecurity at baseline was 3.5% (95% CI: 2.9 — 4.3). Persons with food insecurity were more likely to have Black race or Hispanic ethnicity, low income, and less than high school education. Food insecurity was associated with faster decline in executive function accounting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics: the average difference, over 1-year, in executive function score between people exposed to and not exposed to food insecurity was 0.038 points (95% CI: -0.072 — -0.003). Food assistance programs or increasing healthy food access may reduce food insecurity and delay cognitive aging in community-dwelling older adults.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Kim, B., Szanton, S. L., Thorpe, R. J., Crews, D., & Samuel, L. J. (2022). FOOD INSECURITY AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS. Innovation in Aging. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.528
Vancouver
Kim B, Szanton SL, Thorpe RJ, Crews D, Samuel LJ. FOOD INSECURITY AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS. Innovation in Aging. 2022. doi:10.1093/geroni/igac059.528.
BibTeX
@article{kim2022-62a05bd7,
author = {Kim, Boeun and Szanton, Sarah L. and Thorpe, Roland J. and Crews, Deidra and Samuel, Laura J},
title = {{FOOD INSECURITY AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS}},
journal = {Innovation in Aging},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1093/geroni/igac059.528},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.528}
}
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Key findings
- Food insecurity was associated with faster decline in executive function accounting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics: the average difference, over 1-year, in executive function score between people exposed to and not exposed to food insecurity was 0.038 points (95% CI: -0.072 — -0.003).
Why it matters
In this cohort, food insecurity was linked to a faster decline in executive function but not to memory decline. This is an observational association, so it cannot show that reducing food insecurity prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Effect size3.5%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Innovation in Aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Innovation in Aging: journal h-index 48 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 0 / 6 | Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Laura J Samuel: h-index 25 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
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