142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Social capital and civic engagement do not attenuate the relationship between tobacco and food insecurity in Mexican and Mexican-Americans in California

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Mariaelena Gonzalez, Ph.D. , Public Health, University of California Merced, Merced, CA
Ashley Sanders-Jackson, PhD , Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Susana Ramirez, Ph.D. , Public Health, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA
Paul Brown, PhD , Public Health, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA
Background:  Latino households are disproportionately likely to experience food insecurity (FI), or not having enough food for an active or healthy life. FI is linked to poor health and chronic diseases.  Tobacco smokers are more likely to experience FI compared with non-smokers, this relationship is not well understood.  This effect may be attenuated by social capital, which can provide access to variety of resources, and civic engagement, which may increase access to community members through repeated interaction. This study tested whether social capital and civic engagement would attenuate the relationship of smoking and FI in Mexican-identified persons living in California.

Methods:  We used logistic regressions to analyze the relationship between tobacco use and food insecurity among Mexican-identified respondents in the 2012 California Health Interview Survey (N=7,062).  We used smoking status, social capital, and civic engagement to predict FI controlling for demographics, obesity, nativity, language spoke at home and other individual difference variables. 

Results:  Smokers were more likely to report FI (OR=1.33, p=0.028), even after controlling for social capital and civic engagement.  Respondents who felt that people in the neighborhood were willing to help one another (OR=0.63, p=0.001) and who felt safe in their neighborhood (OR=0.57, p=0.001) were less likely to report FI.

Conclusion:  Civic engagement and social capital do not attenuate the relationship between FI and smoking among Mexican-identified Californians.  While research shows that Mexican-identified individuals in the US are less likely to be smokers, our research shows that those who are may be at greater risk of FI.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe how smokers are more likely to at risk for food insecurity in the Mexican American community. Explain why social capital may help reduce the risk for food insecurity.

Keyword(s): Food Security, Latinos

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am primarily responsible for the design and execution of this research. I have a Ph.D. in Sociology and among my scientific interests have been research on health disparities in the Latino community.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5010.0: Health behaviors among Latinos: food choices, physical activity and smoking