Factors associated with food insecurity in households with infants in the high Andes region of Peru during the 2022–2023 socio-political crisis: a cross-sectional study

Espinoza-Bernardo S.; Estrada-Acero B.; Magdalena Rojas Huayta V.; Huillca-Maldonado H.; Castro M.M.; Dolores-Maldonado G.; Quintana-Salinas M.; Bonilla-Untiveros C.; Aparco J.P. · Revista Espanola de Nutricion Humana y Dietetica (2026) · DOI: 10.14306/renhyd.30.2.2662

Resumen

Introduction: Analyzing the factors associated with food insecurity (FI) is key to guiding timely and effective decisions and interventions in food crisis contexts, such as the one that occurred during the 2022–2023 sociopolitical period. The objective of the study was to determine the factors associated with food insecurity in households with infants in a high Andean area of Peru, in the context of the sociopolitical crisis that occurred between the end of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. Methods: Cross-sectional study of cross-association with a two-stage, probabilistic sample, balanced by health micro-networks and area of residence in the district of Puno. The factors were evaluated using a validated questionnaire, and FI was assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The analyses were performed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: In 330 households, 70.6% had moderate-severe food insecurity and 26.7% had mild food insecurity. The demographic factor of the head of household having a secondary education was a protective factor against moderate-severe food insecurity (OR=0.16; 95% CI 0.03-0.98). Households with difficulties in accessing food due to the sociopolitical crisis were at greater risk of FI (OR=3,23; 95% CI 1,48–7,07), as were households that lost income during the sociopolitical crisis (OR=4.10; 95% CI 1.96-8.60). Conclusion: Demographic and sociopolitical factors associated with moderate-severe food insecurity were identified, but not environmental factors in this crisis context.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos