Abstract A052: Food insecurity and cancer risk in an under-represented community

Abstract Background: Food insecurity represents a significant public health issue that hinders accessibility to nutritious food options and leads to seemingly more affordable yet poorer dietary choices. Lower intake of fruits and vegetables and higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been associated with increased obesity and cancer risks. The aims of this study were to: (1) assess the level of food insecurity among Blacks in underrepresented communities that have the highest cancer rates in Washington, DC; and (2) determine the association with the consumption of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, and alcohol intake, i.e., known cancer risk factors. Methods: A nutrition needs assessment was conducted among men and women from underrepresented communities of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan area. Food insecurity was assessed from the USDA, six-item short form of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. The household food security status score ranged from 0 – 6 was categorized as follows: “high food security” (0-1); “low food security” (2-6). The survey included sociodemographic variables, fruit and vegetable intakes, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol consumption. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data including means, standard deviations, and frequencies. All analyses were conducted in R 4.3.1. Group comparisons were conducted using Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables and ANOVA for age. Results: Of the 104 participants surveyed, 82 (78.9%) were women and 22 (21.1%) were men. The sample was predominantly composed of non-Hispanic Blacks (86.5%), and the mean age was 55.9 ±16.4 years. More than one-third of respondents, 29 (37.5%) experienced low food security. Among those faced with low food security, only 31% reported daily fruit intakes of 1-2 cups, and 30% consumed daily vegetable intakes of 2-3 cups, as recommended in the National Dietary Guidelines (DGAs) for vegetables. The proportion of low food security respondents who did not drink sugar-sweetened beverages and did not drink alcohol daily, was low, 33.9% and 40%, respectively. Fruit and vegetable intakes, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol consumption were not significantly associated with low food security in our sample. However, education level was significantly associated with food security status (Pearson’s Chi-squared test: p = 0.0088), with higher education associated with increased high food security (High School: 46.15%, Undergraduate: 80.56%). In addition, The Cochran-Armitage test showed there was a significant positive trend showing that higher education levels corresponded to higher rates of high food security (Z = 3.07, p = 0.0021). No other variables differed significantly across groups. Conclusion: These findings suggest that low food security was prevalent in our sample and that lower educational status was associated with lower food security. This highlights the need for cancer prevention efforts to adequately address educational barriers and reduce cancer risk in under-represented communities. Citation Format: Mireille Bright, Aisha Choudhri, Allison Marshall, Jialing Zhu, Chiranjeev Dash, Lucile Adams-Campbell. Food insecurity and cancer risk in an under-represented community [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A052.