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Abstract: TH-PO716

Comparing Methods of Food Insecurity Screening in a Pediatric ESKD Population

Session Information

Category: Diversity and Equity in Kidney Health

  • 800 Diversity and Equity in Kidney Health

Authors

  • Besser, Victoria Hansen, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
  • Claes, Donna J., Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Background

Food insecurity (FI) has been reported to affect 65% of pediatric dialysis patients. Our center noted FI prevalence of 6% during initial screening in our kidney transplant (KTx) population. We aimed to identify characteristics of FI & compare different screening methods (verbal vs paper questionnaire) within our single-center, pediatric ESKD (HD, PD & KTx) population.

Methods

We assessed ESKD pts for FI using the Hunger Vital Sign® by a verbal screen and later by paper questionnaire. Patients were considered FI if they answered positive on either screen. Relevant patient data [i.e. gender assigned at birth, age, race, etiology of kidney disease, BMI, weight status, eGFR, KRT modality & presence of hypertension] were obtained at the time of initial screening.

Results

139 pts (19 HD, 11 PD, 109 KTx; 52.5% male; mean age 11.6 yr) completed 225 screens (113 verbal screen, 112 paper questionnaire) with a mean of 5.4 months between screens. 16 pts (11.5%; 5 HD, 1 PD, 10 KTx) were found to be FI. There was a trend of a higher rate of FI in pts of black race (44% vs 20%; p=0.076) & HD pts (31% vs 11.4%; p=0.094) when compared to food secure (FS) pts. There was no difference in other relevant variables between FI & FS pts (table 1). 86 pts completed both the verbal screen & paper questionnaire. Concordance of verbal & written screening was 92% (n=79). 5 pts (6%) were found to be FI on written screen but FS on verbal screen; 2 pts (2%) were FI on verbal screen but FS on written screen.

Conclusion

We report FI prevalence of 11.5% in our pediatric ESKD population. We were able to demonstrate concordance of FI screening by comparing verbal & written screening methods. Further multicenter studies are needed to understand the prevalence, associated relevant outcomes, & potential risk factors of FI in the pediatric ESKD population.