Association between socioeconomic factors and food insecurity: a population-based study in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, Brazil

Objective This work aims to evaluate the prevalence of food insecurity among families from Duque de Caxias, in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area and the association between socioeconomic indicators and food insecurity. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study investigated a probabilistic sample composed of 1,085 households from the district of Campos Eliseos, in the municipality of Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Information on socioeconomic condition was obtained using a structured questionnaire. Food insecurity was assessed by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, which allows classifying the families into food security, or mild, moderate or severe food insecurity. The analyses took into account the sampling design effect. The food insecurity prevalence was estimated and its association with socioeconomic variables was assessed using the chi-square test (p<0.05). Results Food insecurity prevalence was 53.8%. The following variables were inversely and significantly associated with food insecurity: family monthly per capita income, head of family educational level, socioeconomic level (classified according to the Brazilian Association of Market Research criteria), number of family members, and having a water filter in the household. Conclusion Family income was the variable that discriminated both food security and insecurity.