• Hideko Nakamura, Mieko Nakamura, Eisaku Okada, Toshiyuki Ojima, and Katsunori Kondo.
• School of Nursing, Seirei Christopher University, Shizuoka, Japan; Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan. Electronic address: hideko-n@seirei.ac.jp.
• J Epidemiol. 2017 Nov 1; 27 (11): 546-551.

BackgroundFood access is important for maintaining dietary variety, which predicts underweight. The aim of this study was to examine the association of food access and neighbor relationships with eating and underweight.MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional data from 102,869 Japanese individuals aged 65 years or older. The perceived availability of food was assessed using the presence or absence of food stores within 1 km of the home. Level of relationships with neighbors was also assessed. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for infrequent food intake and underweight were determined using logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe proportion of men and women having low access to food was 25-30%. Having low food access (OR 1.18; 95% CI, 1.12-1.25 for men and OR 1.26; 95% CI, 1.19-1.33 for women) and a low level of relationship with neighbors (OR 1.38; 95% CI, 1.31-1.45 for men and OR 1.57; 95% CI, 1.48-1.67 for women) was associated with infrequent intake of fruits and vegetables in both sexes. Association between low food access and infrequent intake of fruits and vegetables was higher among men with low levels of neighbor relationship (OR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.23-1.46) than among men with high levels of relationship (OR 1.10; 95% CI, 1.03-1.18).ConclusionsLow perceived availability of food is a risk factor for low dietary variety among older people. Furthermore, high levels of relationship with neighbors may relieve the harmful effect of low food access.Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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