I am currently designing a cross-sectional study to examine the correlation between food insecurity and diabetes. I plan to recruit participants from the waiting room and administer the FSSM: Three-Stage Design questionnaire [USDA] to establish food security status. Participants with scores representing high or marginal food security will be categorized as food secure, while scores representing low or very low food security will be categorized as food insecure. A health survey will then be administered to assess overall health and comorbid conditions. Participants will report their height and weight, which will be used to calculate BMI. They will then be asked if they have ever been diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or diabetes. Participants who report a diagnosis of diabetes will answer additional questions regarding disease severity, indicating whether their condition requires treatment with insulin and if they have ever been diagnosed with neuropathy, nephropathy, or retinopathy. For these questions, participants will select “yes” or “no.” The most recent A1c value in the past 6 months for the diabetic participants will be obtained through medical records at the clinic. There will be no follow-up in this study.

The primary measure is a diagnosis of diabetes. Secondary measure is information on disease severity.

I think a chi-square will best examine the strength of the association between food insecurity and the dependent variable. Is there something else I should consider? Or a secondary test I should use? Something I could use in conjunction that would add to the study? Thanks!