Household food insecurity is associated with depressive symptoms in the Canadian adult population

Abstract

Background: It is essential to identify factors associated with depression as it is a highly prevalent and disabling mental disorder. The aim of this study was to examine the association between depressive symptoms and household food security status among the Canadian adult population.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of the adult population in the five provinces and one territory (Northwest Territories) of Canada using data from the 2015-2016 Canadian Community Health Survey-Annual Component (n=19,118). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Household food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Security Survey Module. A weighted logistic regression analysis with robust variance estimation technique was performed.

Results: Approximately 22% of the Canadian adult population reported mild-to-severe depressive symptoms, and 8.3% were from households classified as food insecure. Household food insecurity remained a predictor of mild-to-severe depressive symptoms after adjustment for other known risk factors (OR_ajd: 2.87, 95% CI: 2.33-3.55, p<0.001). In the multivariable model, significant associations were also found with multimorbidity, lower household income, a history of illicit drug use, being a current smoker, being a widowed/divorced/separated, obesity, and being a non-drinker. Significant interactions also emerged between employment status and age (p=0.03), employment status and gender (p<0.001), and physical activity level and gender (p<0.001).

Limitations: The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow inferring causality.

Conclusions: Household food insecurity is associated with depressive symptoms in Canadian adults. Additional longitudinal research is required to further elucidate the nature of this relationship.

Keywords: Canadian adults; Household food insecurity; depressive symptoms.