Objective We assessed the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) and its associated factors in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed secondary data analysis of a survey conducted by Facebook and the University of Maryland. We included adults surveyed from April to May 2020. FI was measured by concerns about having enough to eat during the following week. Sociodemographic, mental health, and COVID-19-related variables were collected. We performed generalized Poisson regressions models considering the complex sampling design. We estimated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios with their 95% confidence intervals. Results We included 1,324,272 adults; 50.5% were female, 42.9% were under 35 years old, 78.9% lived in a city, and 18.6% had COVID-19 symptoms. The prevalence of food insecurity in LAC was 75.7% (n = 1,016,841), with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti with 90.8%, 86.7%, and 85.5%, respectively, showing the highest prevalence. Gender, area of residence, presence of COVID-19 symptoms, and fear of getting seriously ill or that a family member gets seriously ill from COVID-19 were associated with a higher prevalence of food insecurity. In contrast, increasing age was associated with a lower prevalence. Conclusion The prevalence of food insecurity during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in LAC was high and was associated with sociodemographic and COVID-19-related variables. Food insecurity; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Latin America
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, food insecurity, Latin America, 【초록키워드】 mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, Prevalence, female, Data analysis, university, COVID-19 symptoms, food, Haiti, Facebook, Venezuela, first stage, Factor, Confidence intervals, complex, increasing age, Poisson regression, Sociodemographic, variable, prevalence ratio, objective, Result, was measured, highest, performed, collected, conducted, adjusted, Latin, variables, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19 pandemic, First wave, Factor,