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Objective: Understanding the factors associated with senior food insecurity is key to understanding senior-specific needs to develop targeted interventions and ultimately lower the prevalence and the incidence of food insecurity. We aimed to systematically review published literature and summarize the associated factors of food insecurity in older adults in the US. Design: We searched Pubmed, Scopus, Web of science, EconLit, and JSTOR databases for peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2005 and September 2019 that assessed food security or its associated factors for US adults aged 60 and older. After a two-step screening process, 20 articles were retained and included in the review. Setting: NA Participants: NA Results: The majority of studies were cross-sectional (70%), consisted of data from one state (60%), and had large sample sizes. Food insecure individuals were more likely to be younger, less educated, Black or African American, female, a current smoker, low income, self-report fair/poor health, have chronic conditions, and utilize government assistance programs. Food insecurity was associated with medication non-adherence, poor mental health outcomes, and limitations in physical functioning. Results were mixed for overweight/obesity status. There was no discernable pattern related to the consistency of findings by the assessed quality of the included studies. Conclusions: Food insecurity is a prevalent and pervasive issue for older adults. The numerous correlates identified suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing food and nutrition safety-net and medication assistance programs are warranted, and upstream, systemic level interventions may be best suited to deal with the correlates of food insecurity.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among college students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) during the COVID 19 pandemic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study that collected online survey data from a convenience sample of college students. Setting: UNLV, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Participants: 310 UNLV students 18 years of age and older, who were enrolled during the 2020 Fall semester. RESULTS: A total of 29.4% (n=97) of the study participants were food insecure. Students with a household income greater than $50,000 were 81% less likely to be food insecure (P < 0.01) compared to students with a household income lower than $50,000. Students who reported their general health as good, fair, or poor were 2.19 times more likely to be food insecure (P = 0.02) compared to students who reported their general health as excellent or very good. For each increase in GPA of 1 point, the odds of being food insecure decreased by 58% (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the high prevalence of food insecurity among UNLV students and provides public health professionals and policymakers with the scientific basis to develop interventions and policies aimed at reducing the rates of food insecurity among college students.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Chinese American women. Knowing the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) gene mutation status can improve breast cancer patients’ health outcomes by guiding targeted treatment towards preventing breast cancer recurrence and other BRCA-related cancers. Nevertheless, it is unclear if there is a disparity in knowledge and use of BRCA testing among Chinese American breast cancer patients. This cross-sectional study investigated the possible presence of differences in the knowledge and the use of BRCA testing between Chinese American and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) breast cancer patients. We surveyed 45 Chinese American and 48 NHW adult breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the previous two years through telephone interviews. The results showed that race was not statistically related to the use of BRCA testing. BRCA testing utilization was associated with family history (p < 0.05) and age (p < 0.05). However, Chinese American participants’ understanding of BRCA testing was significantly lower than that of NHW participants (p = 0.030). Our findings suggest that a disparity exists in BRCA testing knowledge between Chinese American and NHW breast cancer patients. Genetic education and counseling are needed to improve BRCA testing knowledge and uptake among Chinese American breast cancer patients.