Limited evidence exists on the association between food insecurity (FI) and the hypertension care cascade in the Caribbean despite the high burden of both. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between FI and hypertension prevalence, awareness, and control in the Eastern Caribbean. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data (2013-2018) from the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network Cohort Study (n = 2961). Food insecurity was measured using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) and classified as secure, mild, moderate, and severe. Hypertension was defined using guidelines from the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention and Caribbean Health Research Council. Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios for the association between FI and hypertension prevalence, awareness, and control, adjusting for covariates. Overall prevalence of FI was 28 percent in our sample. Seventeen percent experienced mild, 6 percent moderate, and 4 percent experienced severe FI. Fifty-eight percent had hypertension, 65 percent were aware of their hypertension, and among those aware, 56 percent had uncontrolled hypertension. Model results showed no association between FI and hypertension prevalence and awareness. Results for control showed moderate FI (PR = 1.33, CI = 1.09-1.64) and severe FI (PR = 1.30, CI = 1.05-1.62) were associated with 30 percent higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension compared to those who are food secure. Sex-stratified results showed women with moderate (PR = 1.39, CI = 1.13-1.71) and severe FI (PR = 1.41, CI = 1.16-1.72) had 40 and 41 percent higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension compared to food secure women, respectively. Results for men were not statistically significant. Findings align with prior evidence of greater FI prevalence among women and associations with hypertension control. Nutrition policies are needed to reduce FI prevalence and increase access to affordable, nutritious foods. Results warrant further studies to understand sex differences in FI prevalence and the impact on hypertension.

Copyright: © 2025 Oladele et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

尽管加勒比地区食物不安全（FI）和高血压负担都很高，但关于两者之间关联的证据有限。本研究旨在探讨加勒比东部地区的食物不安全与高血压患病率、知晓率及控制率之间的关系。我们基于东加勒比卫生结果研究网络队列研究基线数据（2013-2018年，n = 2961）进行了横断面分析。使用拉丁美洲和加勒比食物安全量表（ELCSA）测量食物不安全情况，并将其分类为安全、轻度、中度和重度。根据美国联合国家心脏、肺和血液研究所第七次报告及加勒比健康研究委员会指南定义高血压。采用泊松回归估计食物不安全与高血压患病率、知晓率以及控制率关联的患病率比值，调整了混杂因素的影响。总体上，在我们的样本中，食物不安全的比例为28%。17%的人经历了轻度食物不安全，6%的人经历了中度食物不安全，4%的人经历了重度食物不安全。58%的人患有高血压，65%的患者知晓其高血压状况；在那些已经知情的患者中，有56%的患者的高血压未得到控制。模型结果显示，食物不安全与高血压患病率和知晓率无显著关联。对于控制情况的结果显示，中度（PR = 1.33, CI = 1.09-1.64）和重度食物不安全（PR = 1.30, CI = 1.05-1.62）与对照组相比，未受控高血压的患病率分别高出30%。性别分层结果表明，中度食物不安全女性（PR = 1.39, CI = 1.13-1.71）和重度食物不安全女性（PR = 1.41, CI = 1.16-1.72），未受控高血压的患病率比对照组高40%和41%，而男性结果无统计学意义。研究发现与之前关于女性食物不安全更为普遍以及其与高血压控制相关的证据一致。需要制定营养政策来减少食物不安全的比例并增加获得经济实惠、有营养价值食品的机会。这些结果提示进一步研究以了解性别在食物不安全比例及对高血压影响方面的差异是有必要的。

Copyright: © 2025 Oladele et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.