title: Hunger in legal immigrants in California, Texas, and Illinois.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study determined the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger in low-income legal immigrants.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Latino and Asian legal immigrants attending urban clinics and community centers in California, Texas, and Illinois with a food security questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 630 respondents, 40% of the households were food insecure without hunger and 41% were food insecure with hunger. Independent predictors of hunger were income below federal poverty level (odds ratio [OR] = 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.72, 4.30), receipt of food stamps (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.57, 4.09), Latino ethnicity (OR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.49, 3.82), and poor English (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.10, 2.82).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of hunger among low-income legal immigrants is unacceptably high. Access to food assistance programs is important for the health and well-being of this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Mass. 02118, USA. jennifer.kasper@bmc.org
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Meyers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002160:Cambodia / Q000208:ethnology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology