Food insecurity, state fragility and youth mental health: A global perspective

Abstract

Youth in fragile settings face disproportionate risks of experiencing food insecurity and poor mental health. Cross-national evidence is lacking on the association between food insecurity and mental health in youth populations, and on state fragility as a social determinant of these experiences. We analysed data from six cycles of the Gallup World Poll (2014–2019), an annual survey that contains multi-item scales of food insecurity, mental health problems and positive wellbeing. The analytic sample included 164,118 youth aged 15–24 years in 160 states. We linked individual responses to state-level data from the Fragile States Index—an aggregate measure of state vulnerability to collapse or conflict (coded: sustainable, stable, warning, or alert) and estimated adjusted relative risk (RR) of food insecurity as a function of state fragility. We then used linear regression to examine associations of state fragility and food insecurity with mental health and wellbeing. The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity rose from 22.93% in 2014 to 37.34% in 2019. State fragility (alert vs. sustainable) was related to an increased risk of food insecurity (RR = 2.28 [95% CI 1.30 to 4.01]), more mental health symptoms (b = 6.36 [95% CI 1.79 to 10.93]), and lower wellbeing (b = −4.49 [95% CI -8.28 to −0.70]) after controlling for state wealth and household income. Increased food insecurity (severe vs. none or mild) was uniquely related to more mental health symptoms (b = 18.44 [95% CI 17.24 to 19.64]) and reduced wellbeing (b = −9.85 [95% CI -10.88 to −8.83]) after state fragility was also controlled. Globally, youth experience better mental health where states are more robust and food access is more secure. The findings underscore the importance of strong governance and coordinated policy actions that may improve youth mental health.

Investigating the role of climate-related disasters in the relationship between food insecurity and mental health for youth aged 15–24 in 142 countries

“…For one, we observed a significant association between FI and poor mental health among youth globally. This result was in line with several previous analyses of GWP data, conducted among both youth [21,22] and adults [8,[49][50][51][52]. Our analysis controlled for a number of indicators of poverty and material deprivation, such as annual household income, education, and employment status.…”

“…The association remained significant when the sample was stratified by country income level and UN sub-region. In their analysis of FI, state fragility, and mental health among youth, Elgar et al [22] also reported significant associations between FI and poor mental health across all UN sub-regions. These findings suggest that the FI-mental health relationship persists among youth across cultural contexts.…”

“…Our analysis controlled for a number of indicators of poverty and material deprivation, such as annual household income, education, and employment status. This suggests that the relationship between FI and mental health among youth is not solely driven by poverty and deprivation, indicating that other psychosocial or biological mechanisms are likely also at play [22]. For example, individuals may develop what is known as toxic stress, a condition that occurs under chronic pressures, such as prolonged experiences of FI, and lack of adequate supports [54][55][56].…”

“…Potential confounders. The following variables were selected as potential confounders based on existing literature [8,22,[49][50][51][52] and their availability in the GWP dataset: the respondent's age (years) and gender (male, female), level of urbanicity of the respondent's home (rural or farm, small town or village, suburb of a large city, large city), number of children in household <15 years of age, marital status of the respondent (single/never married, married, separated, divorced, widowed, domestic partner), highest level of education completed by the respondent (elementary or less, secondary, tertiary), employment status (full time for an employer, full time self-employed, part time and not want to work full time, part time and want to work full time, unemployed, out of the workforce) and annual household income (international dollars). The household income variable was log transformed due to its diminishing returns on mental wellbeing [8].…”

Proximate Analysis of Poultry-Mix Formed Feed Using Maize Bran as a Base

“…It was reported years after that the number of undernourished people is still increasing world-wide by about five million each year with overwhelming majority in the developing world [ 3 ]. Unfortunately, the egg, which is a compact source of vital nutrients and should have been a more natural way of delivering the needed nutrients, is prohibitively expensive for the typical man.…”