A comparison of the nutritional status and food security of drug-using and non-drug-using Hispanic women in Hartford, Connecticut.
This study compared food insecurity, nutritional status (as measured through anthropometry and dietary intake), and food preparation patterns of low-income Puerto Rican female out-of-treatment drug users with that of low-income Puerto Rican women who reported no drug use. A convenience sample of 41 drug users was compared with 41 age-matched non-drug-users from inner-city Hartford, Connecticut. A culturally appropriate food frequency questionnaire was administered and anthropometric measurements were taken. The findings suggest a high degree of poverty among all study participants, but in particular among drug users. Drug users were more likely than the controls to be food insecure (P < 0.05) and to be exposed to increasingly severe food sufficiency problems. The daily frequency of consumption of vegetables was lower (P = 0.03) for drug users than non-drug-users. Conversely, the frequency of consumption for sweets/desserts was significantly higher for drug users than the controls (P = 0.0001). Drug users, who were classified as food insecure were less likely to consume vegetables (P = 0.004) and fish (P = 0.03) than were controls who were food insecure. When comparing drug users with controls, the former group reported consuming fewer meals during a usual week than the latter group (P < 0.0001). Drug users were more likely to fry foods (P = 0.02) while the controls were more likely to bake (P = 0.005), boil (P = 0.02), and steam (P = 0.002) foods. All anthropometric measurements, except for height, were significantly lower for drug users. The results show that drug users generally maintain poorer nutritional status than non-drug-users. Nutrition interventions as part of drug treatment are needed.
Himmelgreen
D A
DA
Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, Connecticut 06106, USA.
Pérez-Escamilla
R
R
Segura-Millán
S
S
Romero-Daza
N
N
Tanasescu
M
M
Singer
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D003237:Connecticut; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005190:Family; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders