Water insecurity in Mexican households: Comparison of results from Ensanut Continua 2021 and 2022.

Abstract

Objective. To assess water insecurity in Mexican households according to sociodemographic characteristics and compare data from two national surveys. Materials and methods. To estimate water insecurity, we utilized the Household Water Insecurity Experiences scale and the sociodemographic characteristics of the households. The study variables were described as proportions with 95% confidence intervals. Results. We included information from Encuestas Nacionales de Salud y Nutrición (Ensanut) 2021 (12 463 households) and 2022 (10 356 households) that responded to the HWISE scale. The prevalence of water insecurity in 2021 was 16.3%, and in 2022 it was 16.5%. In 2021, 15.2% of households in rural localities had water insecurity, and in 2022, 17.2% of households had it. In 2021, the region with the lowest proportion of households with water insecurity was Frontera, but the prevalence of water insecurity in this region increased by 18.9 percentage points between 2021 and 2022. Conclusions. It is of national concern that Mexico develops an intensive action plan for environmental deterioration, water scarcity, and water pollution.