Food insecurity (FI) is associated with diverse socioeconomic factors and negatively impacts glycemic control in patients with diabetes (DM). Previous interventions have successfully improved food security status and access to nutritious food, but have not consistently shown improvement in glycemic control. This suggests an underlying heterogeneity in the FI population that may impact glycemic control. We explored characteristics of FI in patients with DM. Unsupervised cluster analysis was performed using survey data from non-Hispanic African American (AA) patients with FI in an urban safety-net DM clinic. Among 117 patients with FI, two distinct groups emerged. Group 1 was younger with worse glycemic control, lower food security status and less economic support, but more supplemental nutritional assistance program (SNAP) income and DM knowledge. Group 2 was older with better glycemic control, more federal economic and insurance support, but less SNAP assistance and lower medication adherence. Our results highlight the heterogeneity of FI-associated characteristics among AA patients with DM. Insurance status, economic and financial support may confer some protective effect for adequate glycemic control in the face of food insecurity.
G. Davis: None. K.L. Flint: None. L. Peng: None. G.E. Umpierrez: Advisory Panel; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi US.