ArticlePublic health nutrition2023
Food Insecurity, telomere length and the potential modifying effects of social support in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Biosocial Factors Shaping Perceptions of Disease Risk Among a Community-Based Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority People Living in Toronto During the COVID-19 Pandemic.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- Shorter Telomere Length is Associated with Food Insecurity in Older People: A Cross-Sectional Study.Current aging science · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveTelomere length (TL) is a posited pathway through which chronic stress results in biological dysregulation and subsequent adverse health outcomes. Food insecurity is associated with shorter TL. Social support, which is defined by the size and function of an individual's social network, is associated with better health outcomes. The present study assesses whether social support modifies the relationship between food security and TL.
designCross-sectional study design. Linear regression was used to assess the association between food insecurity and TL, stratified by social support level. A multiplicative interacted model was used to formally test modification.
settingData come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 waves.
participantsAdults aged 60 years and older who have measurements for TL.
resultsOur sample comprised 2674 participants, and 63·5 % of the total sample had low social support, with 13·3 % being food insecure. In fully adjusted models, food insecurity was negatively though modestly associated (
conclusionFood insecurity is modestly associated with shorter TL. Contrary to our hypothesis, food insecurity had more deleterious effects on TL among participants with high social support than low social support. Results may indicate that the food insecure population is a higher needs population, and increased social support reflects these needs rather than providing protective effects.
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