Food Insecurity and Type 2 Diabetes in Children: A Systematic Literature Review

Background and Aim: The incidence of children and adolescents being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Western Australia is increasing, with approximately three in five of these children from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The ability to afford, access and acquire nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate foods could play a role in the risk of developing T2D. Internationally, studies have looked at the association between T2D and food insecurity, yet no systematic review of the literature has been conducted. This systematic review aims to determine the relationship between food insecurity and T2D in children and adolescents, including Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. Research Method: PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), CINHAL Plus with full text (EBSCO) and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify the available literature. The search was restricted by publication date of 1990 - present, English language and human studies. Children (aged 1-18 years) diagnosed with either impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or T2D and experience food insecurity, were included in the systematic review. Study selection, data extraction and synthesis and risk of bias assessment was completed by two independent reviewers. Results: A total of 10 studies comprising of 47,085 participants were included in the systematic review. Eight studies found an association between food insecurity and T2D, however, this association varied between studies. Different methodologies were used to measure food insecurity, IGT and T2D prevalence, which is a potential factor for the variation in the association within the selected studies. Conclusion: Evidence suggests the ability to afford, access and acquire nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate foods is associated with IGT and T2D in children and adolescents. More longitudinal cohort studies on a larger, more representative sample need to be conducted to determine the extent of this relationship. Disclosure J. Blackburn: None. H. Bres: None. G. Devenish: None. A. Harray: None.