Two public health researchers at New Mexico State University are collaborating on a series of studies to understand the long-term impacts of food insecurity among American adults living with chronic diseases. Jagdish Khubchandani and Karen Kopera-Frye, both professors of public health sciences in NMSU's College of Health, Education and Social Transformation, recently conducted two studies using multiple large population databases from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In their first study, Khubchandani and Kopera-Frye used a sample of more than 30,000 adults, 20 years and older, across the nation to understand the impact of food insecurity among those with colorectal cancer.
Their findings, published in Gastrointestinal Disorders , found that colorectal cancer alone may not significantly increase the risk of premature mortality. However, among those with colorectal cancer and food insecurity combined, the risk for any cause of death increased by 4.13 times, and the risk of heart disease related deaths increased 9.
57 times upon prolonged follow-up. "Colorectal cancers are among the leading causes of death among U.S.
adults, claiming more than 50,000 lives every year," Khubchandani said. "Cancer alone is a debilitating disease, and the co-occurrence of food insecurity makes it worse." Kopera-Frye added, "Health care practitioners should be sensitized to the growing problem of food insecurity especially among.
