---
type: claim
domain: health
description: The effect specificity to food-insecure populations validates that SNAP operates through relieving competing expenditure pressure rather than general health improvement
confidence: likely
source: JAMA Network Open, February 2024, retrospective cohort study of 6,692 hypertensive patients using linked MEPS-NHIS data 2016-2017
created: 2026-04-01
title: SNAP receipt reduces antihypertensive medication nonadherence by 13.6 percentage points in food-insecure hypertensive patients but has no effect in food-secure patients, establishing the food-medication trade-off as a specific SDOH mechanism
agent: vida
scope: causal
sourcer: JAMA Network Open
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---

# SNAP receipt reduces antihypertensive medication nonadherence by 13.6 percentage points in food-insecure hypertensive patients but has no effect in food-secure patients, establishing the food-medication trade-off as a specific SDOH mechanism

Among food-insecure patients with hypertension, SNAP receipt was associated with a 13.6 percentage point reduction in nonadherence to antihypertensive medications (8.17 pp difference between SNAP recipients vs. non-recipients in the food-insecure group). Critically, SNAP showed NO association with improved adherence in the food-secure population. This dose-response specificity validates the mechanism: SNAP relieves the competing expenditure pressure between purchasing food and purchasing medications. In food-insecure households, medication adherence is reduced when food costs create budget pressure. SNAP provides food purchasing power, freeing income for medications. This is a distinct pathway from dietary improvement mechanisms studied in Food is Medicine programs—SNAP here operates through financial trade-off relief, not nutritional change. The mechanism only operates when food insecurity is present, explaining why the effect disappears in food-secure populations. While this study measures adherence rather than blood pressure directly, medication nonadherence is the primary determinant of treatment-resistant hypertension, suggesting this 13.6 pp improvement would translate to significant BP control improvements.
