Socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors associated with food expense insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Abstract

Objective To examine the status of food expense insufficiency in Japan during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors associated with food expense insufficiency. Design Food expense insufficiency before and after the pandemic was assessed. The multivariable- adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for the association between food expense insufficiency and socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors. Setting A large-scale, cross-sectional online questionnaire survey. Participants From August to September 2020, 25,482 participants aged 15-79 years completed the questionnaire (JACSIS 2020 study; Group 1). In October 2020, 917 single parents were surveyed for oversampling purposes. There were 179 single parents in Group 1 and a total of 1096 single parents in Group 2. Results Group 1 and Group 2 had 747 (2.9%) and 55 (5.0%) participants, respectively, who experienced food expense insufficiency for the first time after April 2020. Young age, part-time employment, being a single parent (in Group 1), and the number of people in the household (five or more in Group 1 and child/children alone in Group 2) were significantly associated with food expense insufficiency. As being a single parent was significantly associated with food expense insufficiency in Group 1 (AOR [95% CI] = 7.23 [5.40-9.68]), we further examined it in Group 2. Single parents who exhibited multiple factors (young age, part-time employment, living only with child/children) were likely to experience food expense insufficiency (15.3-15.8%). Conclusions Triggered by the pandemic, a small percentage of individuals experienced food expense insufficiency. We identified that factors such as young age, part-time employment, and being a single parent were significantly associated with food expense insufficiency, and discovered that a multiplicity of these factors further increased the risk. Our findings suggest an urgent need to support individuals with a potentially high risk of food expense insufficiency.