Diet Quality, Food Security Among Mexican-Born Women and Their Associations with Perceived Neighborhood Food Environment

Background/Objectives: Diet quality among Mexican-born immigrant women may be influenced by food security (FS) and neighborhood food environment factors; however, these relationships remain understudied. This exploratory study examined differences in diet quality/dietary outcomes by FS status and explored the potential for perceived neighborhood food availability to modify the association between FS and diet quality. Methods: Mexican-born immigrant women (n = 57) self-reported FS, diet, and perceived neighborhood food availability. Diet was assessed using the Southwest Food Frequency Questionnaire to calculate the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2020) score. The six-item USDA FS Scale was used to dichotomize FS as high or low. Independent t-tests assessed differences in HEI-2020; fast-food frequency; and intake of fruit, vegetables, salty snacks, and sugar by FS status. An exploratory regression analysis examined whether perceived food availability modified the association between FS and diet quality using complementary Bayesian techniques to improve efficiency given the small sample size. Results: Women experiencing low FS had lower HEI-2020 than those with high FS (62 ± 8 vs. 66 ± 6; p = 0.03), as well as non-significantly lower intakes of fruit (236 ± 178 vs. 294 ± 239 g), vegetables (303 ± 188 vs. 331 ± 199 g), and salty snacks (6 ± 5 vs. 8 ± 10 g) and higher intakes of sugar (99 ± 55 vs. 96 ± 56 g) and fast food (2.5 ± 2.5 vs. 1.8 ± 1.7 times/month). No statistically significant evidence of the perceived neighborhood food availability modifying the association between FS and diet quality was observed. Exploratory analysis suggested that among women experiencing low FS, HEI-2020 score varied by perceived neighborhood food availability (low: 57; moderate: 61; high: 65; p = 0.077). Bayesian analyses suggested a greater impact of perceived neighborhood food availability among women with low FS and lower diet quality. Conclusions: In this small sample of Mexican-born women, low FS was associated with lower diet quality. Although evidence of effect modification by perceived neighborhood food availability was not observed, exploratory findings suggest that it may influence diet quality among women experiencing low FS and warrant investigation in larger studies.