Predictors of persistent moderate and severe food insecurity in a longitudinal survey in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gaitan-Rossi P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11233454 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectiveTo validate the telephone modality of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) included in three waves of a phone survey to estimate the monthly household food insecurity prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.DesignWe examined the reliability and internal validity of the ELCSA scale in three repeated waves of cross-sectional surveys with Rasch models. We estimated the monthly prevalence of food insecurity in the general population and in households with and without children and compared them with a national 2018 survey. We tested concurrent validity by testing associations of food insecurity with socio-economic status and anxiety.SettingENCOVID-19 is a monthly telephone cross-sectional survey collecting information on the well-being of Mexican households during the pandemic lockdown. Surveys used probabilistic samples, and we used data from April (n 833), May (n 850) and June 2020 (n 1674).ParticipantsMexicans 18 years or older who had a mobile telephone.ResultsELCSA had an adequate model fit and food insecurity was associated, within each wave, with more poverty and anxiety. The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with an important reduction in food security, decreasing stepwise from 38·9 % in 2018 to 24·9 % in June 2020 in households with children.ConclusionsTelephone surveys were a feasible strategy to monitor reductions in food security during the COVID-19 lockdown.
| S-EPMC7653232 | biostudies-literature
Project description:COVID-19 has affected the health and well-being of almost every American. The aim of this study was to examine the sustained impacts of COVID-19 prevention measures on the diet and exercise habits, risk for food insecurity, and quality of life among adults in the U.S. We conducted a longitudinal study using a convenience sample of participants recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform between March 30 and April 7, 2020, and 8 months into the outbreak, from November 2 to November 21, 2020. We compared self-reported diet and exercise habits and risk for food insecurity shortly after the pandemic began, in April, to those reported in November. We also measured changes in quality-of-life using the PROMIS-29 + 2 (PROPr) scale. A total of 636 respondents completed both surveys. Compared to reports in April, respondents ate lunch and dinner out more frequently in November and consumed more take-out and fast food. Weekly frequencies of consuming frozen food and the number of daily meals were slightly lower in November than they were in April. 54% of respondents screened positively for being at risk for food insecurity in April, reducing to 41% by November. In April, survey respondents were found to have lower quality-of-life relative to U.S. population norms, but by November levels of depression and cognitive function had improved. Our findings underscore how the initial effects of the pandemic on diet, exercise, risk for food insecurity, and quality of life have evolved. As U.S. states re-open, continued efforts to encourage healthy eating and support mental health, especially to reduce feelings of anxiety and social isolation, remain important to mitigate the potential long-term effects of the pandemic.
| S-EPMC8990782 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The obesity epidemic continues to challenge global health, driven by multifaceted environmental and biological factors. Here, we investigate the impact of food insecurity, characterized by unpredictable food access, on body weight, food intake, and body composition in mice. Male and female C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a combination of intermittent fasting and 5% calorie restriction to resemble food insecurity situations. Our results reveal that this novel food insecurity model promotes fat accumulation and decreases lean mass in both sexes on a standard chow diet. While food insecurity did not exacerbate fat gain in male mice fed a high-fat diet, it further reduced lean mass. RNA sequencing of epididymal white adipose tissue from food-insecure male mice identified upregulated lipid metabolism genes and downregulated immune response genes, suggesting adipocyte expansion and potential immunity dysfunction. These results challenge the traditional view that obesity is solely driven by positive energy balance. Instead, our findings highlight the role of food insecurity in promoting metabolic adaptations favouring fat storage. Our data provide biological mechanisms that may explain the dramatic rise in obesity, underscoring the importance of socio-economic factors, beyond diet composition and energy balance, in understanding the complex etiology of obesity.
2025-06-04 | GSE274149 | GEO
Project description:Food insecurity is associated with cigarette smoking, yet little is known about how variability in the experience of food insecurity may relate to patterns of cigarette use. We sought to examine patterns of food insecurity and cigarette use during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020-March 2021). We analyzed longitudinal survey data from a nationally representative panel of adults in the United States (N = 7,880) from the Understanding Coronavirus in America Study. The primary independent variable was ten trajectories of food insecurity. Our dependent variable was past 7-day cigarette use (count of days used cigarettes). Poisson regression using generalized estimating equations was run controlling for key covariates. The prevalence of cigarette use on at least one day in the past week was lowest (17.5 %) for those who Remained Food Secure, and highest (57.9 %) among those who Became Fully Food Insecure, a group characterized by having high probability of becoming food insecure during the study period. Among those who reported at least one day of cigarette use in the past week, fewer than half (40.1 %) reported sustained use across all waves of the study. Those who Became Fully Food Insecure had an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.73 (95 % CI: 1.18, 2.54) compared to those who Remained Food Secure with respect to number of smoking days. While different patterns of food insecurity are related to cigarette smoking at the population level, these results highlight that food insecurity, a key social need, may represent a novel strategy for informing reduction of tobacco use disparities.
| S-EPMC10874846 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis study set out to investigate the risk of household food insecurity in Nigeria during the novel COVID-19 pandemic using a harmonised dataset of Nigeria's prepandemic face-to-face survey and two waves of the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS).SettingNigeria.ParticipantsA representative sample of 1674 households is used in the analysis.DesignA longitudinal study.ResultsOur longitudinal study reveals a significant increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in Nigeria during the COVID-19 crisis. For a sample of 1674 households used in the analysis, nearly 32% were moderately food insecure in the baseline survey (ie, the prepandemic period), compared with 74% and 72% that faced the same degree of food insecurity in the two waves of the COVID-19 phone survey. In like manner, not up to 4% of the households faced severe food insecurity in the prepandemic period, compared with 43% and 22% that experienced the same level of food insecurity during the period of the pandemic. Based on the available information in the dataset, we construct a composite non-monetary measure (or index) of household well-being and employ the binary logistic model to investigate the objects under study. The empirical results show that the well-being index has a strong negative association with household food insecurity. Further investigation reveals that the risk of being food insecure increases for households in relatively poor living conditions compared with those in the middle category and conversely declines for households in much better living conditions.ConclusionThis study informs an understanding of the prevalence and risk of household food insecurity in Nigeria during the novel COVID-19 pandemic and provides insights that can guide policy actions in responding to the current wave of food crises in Nigeria.
| S-EPMC9826925 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesTo identify (1) who experiences food insecurity of differing severity and (2) who uses food banks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; (3) whether the same groups experience food insecurity and use food banks; and (4) to explore country- and region-level differences in food insecurity and food bank use.DesignThis pooled cross-sectional study analysed the characteristics of adults experiencing food insecurity of differing severity using generalised ordinal logistic regression models and the characteristics of adults using food banks using logistic regression models, using data from three waves of the Food and You 2 surveys, 2021-2023.SettingEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland.Participants18 557 adults.Results20·8 % of respondents experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, and 3·6 % had used a food bank. Food insecurity was associated with income, working status, respondent age, family type, ethnicity, country, long-term health conditions, food hypersensitivity, urban-rural status and area-level deprivation. Severe food insecurity was concentrated among respondents with long-term health conditions and food hypersensitivities. Food bank use was more prevalent among food insecure respondents and unemployed and low-income respondents. Neither outcome showed clear geographical variation. Certain groups experienced an elevated likelihood of food insecurity but did not report correspondingly greater food bank use.ConclusionsFood insecurity is unevenly distributed, and its nutrition and health-related consequences demonstrate that food insecurity will intensify health inequalities. The divergence between the scale of food insecurity and food bank use strengthens calls for adequate policy responses.
| S-EPMC11505125 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo examine associations between sociodemographic and mental health characteristics with household risk for food insecurity during the COVID-19 outbreak.DesignCross-sectional online survey analysed using univariable tests and a multivariable logistic regression model.SettingThe United States during the week of 30 March 2020.ParticipantsA convenience sample of 1965 American adults using Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. Participants reporting household food insecurity prior to the pandemic were excluded from analyses.ResultsOne thousand two hundred and fifty participants reported household food security before the COVID-19 outbreak. Among this subset, 41 % were identified as at risk for food insecurity after COVID-19, 55 % were women and 73 % were white. On a multivariable analysis, race, income, relationship status, living situation, anxiety and depression were significantly associated with an incident risk for food insecurity. Black, Asian and Hispanic/Latino respondents, respondents with an annual income <$100 000 and those living with children or others were significantly more likely to be newly at risk for food insecurity. Individuals at risk for food insecurity were 2·60 (95 % CI 1·91, 3·55) times more likely to screen positively for anxiety and 1·71 (95 % CI 1·21, 2·42) times more likely to screen positively for depression.ConclusionsAn increased risk for food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic is common, and certain populations are particularly vulnerable. There are strong associations between being at risk for food insecurity and anxiety/depression. Interventions to increase access to healthful foods, especially among minority and low-income individuals, and ease the socioemotional effects of the outbreak are crucial to relieving the economic stress of this pandemic.
| S-EPMC8207551 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of the present study was two-fold: Firstly, to estimate the prevalence of psychological distress among international students at a Hungarian university two years after the COVID-19 outbreak; and secondly, to identify its demographic and socioeconomic factors, with special regard to the students' food-security status. A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was carried out from 27 March to 3 July 2022 among international students at the University of Debrecen. The questionnaire included information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, food-security status (six-item United States Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey Module (USDA-FSSM)), and psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)). Bivariate analysis was conducted to examine the potential associations between demographic/socioeconomic factors and psychological distress. Additionally, multiple logistic regression was employed to further analyze these associations. Of 398 participants, 42.2%, 48.7%, and 29.4% reported mild to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The ages 18-24 (AOR = 2.619; 95% CI: 1.206-5.689) and 25-29 (AOR = 2.663; 95% CI: 1.159-6.119), reporting a low perception of health status (AOR = 1.726; 95% CI: 1.081-2.755), and being food insecure (AOR = 1.984; 95% CI: 1.274-3.090) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Being female (AOR = 1.674; 95% CI: 1.090-2.571), reporting a low perception of health status (AOR = 1.736; 95% CI: 1.098-2.744), and being food insecure (AOR = 2.047; 95% CI: 1.327-3.157) were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, being female (AOR = 1.702; 95% CI: 1.026-2.824)), living with roommates (AOR = 1.977; 95% CI: 1.075-3.635), reporting a low perception of health status (AOR = 2.840; 95% CI: 1.678-4.807), and being food insecure (AOR = 2.295; 95% CI:1.398-3.767) were significantly associated with symptoms of stress. Psychosocial programs combined with strategies to alleviate food insecurity are required to enhance international students' mental health and well-being.
| S-EPMC10820830 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic worsened food insecurity worldwide. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on perceived food insecurity among households in rural Esmeraldas, Ecuador. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to characterize pandemic impacts on household livelihoods and food insecurity in five communities. Fifteen months after the pandemic began, food insecurity was reported in almost half of all households. Residents of the least-accessible community reported the greatest disruptions in food availability, while residents of more accessible communities reported greater disruption to livelihoods. These data suggests that transportation restrictions differentially impacted the least accessible rural communities.
| S-EPMC11771988 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Food insecurity (FI) is an understudied risk factor for depression among perinatal women in sub-Saharan Africa. We therefore explored the longitudinal relationship between FI and depressive symptoms among a cohort of perinatal women of mixed HIV status (n = 371) in Kenya (NCT02974972, NCT02979418). Using longitudinal linear and logistic regressions with random effects, we assessed bivariate and adjusted associations between maternal FI and depressive symptoms. HIV status was also assessed as a potential effect modifier. At baseline, 58% of pregnant women had probable depression (CES-D score > 16) and 84% were severely food insecure. In adjusted analyses, severely food-insecure women had 5.90 greater odds (95% CI 2.32, 15.02, p < 0.001) of having probable depression and scored 4.58 points higher on the CES-D scale (SE: 1.04, p < 0.001) relative to food-secure women. HIV status did not modify the association between FI and depressive symptoms. Interventions to reduce FI may reduce perinatal depression, benefiting mothers and their infants.
| S-EPMC7886965 | biostudies-literature