The association between chronic conditions, COVID-19 infection, and food insecurity among the older US adults: findings from the 2020–2021 National Health Interview Survey

Table 4 The association between the number of chronic conditions and food insecurity in the older adults (≥ 65 years), 2020–2021 NHIS sample

	% (n)^a	Low food security vs. high or marginal food security	Very low food security vs. high or marginal food security	*p-value*_trend^c
		AOR (95% CI)^b	AOR (95% CI)
Number of chronic conditions
0–1	36.1 (6410)	Ref	Ref	< 0.0001
2	22.2 (3982)	1.09 (1.09, 1.10)	1.27 (1.26, 1.28)
≥ 3	41.7 (7585)	1.89 (1.88, 1.90)	4.07 (4.04, 4.10)
Number of physical health conditions
0–1	39.7 (7124)	Ref	Ref	< 0.0001
2	24.0 (4342)	1.38 (1.38, 1.39)	1.62 (1.60, 1.63)
≥ 3	36.3 (6511)	1.77 (1.76, 1.78)	3.68 (3.66, 3.71)
Number of mental health conditions
0–1	93.0 (16,630)	Ref	Ref	< 0.0001
2	7.0 (1347)	2.15 (2.14, 2.16)	2.73 (2.72, 2.75)

Notes. NHIS National Health Interview Survey, AOR adjusted odds ratio, CI confidence interval, Ref reference group
^aValues were expressed as % (n). All percentages (%) were based on the weighted sample and the number of participants (n) for each group was calculated based on the unweighted sample
^bAORs with 95% CIs were calculated based on the weighted sample. Age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, region, education, employment, federal poverty level, health insurance, and SNAP participation were adjusted in the weighted logistic regression models. Participants with 0–1 chronic condition, 0–1 physical condition, or 0–1 mental condition were set as the reference group (AORs = 1). All significant associations were significant at p < 0.0001
^cJonckheere-Terpstra test, a non-parametric trend test, was used to assess whether the severity of food insecurity increased as the number of chronic conditions increased