Association between food insecurity and depressive symptoms among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 22 low- and middle-income countries

Lee Smith; Guillermo F López Sánchez; Hans Oh; Masoud Rahmati; Mark A Tully; Dong Keon Yon; Laurie Butler; Yvonne Barnett; Graham Ball; Jae Il Shin; Ai Koyanagi

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115485

Association between food insecurity and depressive symptoms among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 22 low- and middle-income countries

Psychiatry Res. 2023 Oct:328:115485. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115485. Epub 2023 Sep 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
² Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: gfls@um.es.
³ Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran.
⁵ School of Medicine, Ulster University, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
⁷ Medical Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Severance Underwood Meta-research Center, Institute of Convergence Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: shinji@yuhs.ac.
⁹ Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 37729716
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115485

Abstract

Food insecurity may be a risk factor for depression in adolescents. However, data on this topic from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce, despite food insecurity being most common in LMICs. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between food-insecurity and depressive symptoms among school-going adolescents from 22 LMICs. Cross-sectional data from the Global school-based Student Health Survey were analyzed. Self-report measures assessed past 12-month depressive symptoms and past 30-day food insecurity (hunger). Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to assess associations. Data on 48,401 adolescents aged 12-15 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 13.8 (0.9) years; 51.4 % females]. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 29.3 %, and those of moderate and severe food insecurity were 45.0 and 6.3 %, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no food insecurity, the pooled OR (95 %CI) of moderate and severe food insecurity were 1.36 (1.30-1.42) and 1.81 (1.67-1.97), respectively. The level of between-country heterogeneity was low. Food insecurity was associated with significantly higher odds for depressive symptoms among adolescents in LMICs. Policies to address food insecurity may also help prevent depression in this population, pending future longitudinal research.

Keywords: Adolescents; Depression; Epidemiology; Food insecurity; Hunger; Mental health; Multi-country.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression* / epidemiology
Developing Countries*
Female
Food Insecurity
Food Supply
Humans
Male
Poverty