Relationship between food security and social isolation among residents of large-scale housing complexes in Japan

Abstract

This study focused on the association between malnutrition, income, and living alone among residents of a large-scale housing complex in Japan to clarify the relationship between household food insecurity and social isolation. We adopted a cross-sectional research design and conducted a survey by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Subsequent logistic regression analysis showed that social isolation and subjective household financial hardship were statistically independent risk factors for food insecurity (males had respective ORs of 2.79 and 8.80; females respective ORs of 2.31 and 8.66). We showed that in addition to general financial support, support catering specifically to social isolation is needed to address food insecurity among residents of this housing complex.