Food Security, Financial Resources, and Mental Health: Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Yenerall, Jackie; Jensen, Kimberly L.

doi:10.3390/nu14010161

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A study has found that higher education level affects food security after controlling for the household wealth index ( 36 ). Financial and economic crises have also been shown to have the highest impact on the food security status in developing countries ( 37 ), with economic status correlating directly with FI ( 38 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial Wellbeing and Quality of Life Among a Sample of the Lebanese Population: The Mediating Effect of Food Insecurity

Karam

Haddad

Sacre³

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

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BackgroundLebanon is undergoing multiple overlapping crises, affecting the food security, financial well-being, and quality of life (QOL) of its residents.ObjectiveThe primary objective was to assess the food insecurity (FI) status of a sample of the Lebanese population. The second objective was to explore factors related to QOL parameters and evaluate the mediating effect of food security between financial well-being and QOL.MethodsThe study was cross-sectional and enrolled 412 participants recruited online using the snowball sampling technique. The survey included questions related to sociodemographic and economic characteristics of Lebanese households and validated scales to assess FI, QOL measures, financial well-being, and fear of COVID-19.ResultsAlmost 43% of the study participants reported being food insecure, with 31% experiencing mild FI, 10% moderate FI, and 1.5% severe FI. Compared to food-insecure participants, food secure participants had a significantly higher income (58.5% vs. 39.2%, p < 0.001), a university education level (96.6% vs. 88.1%, p = 0.002), an average perceived financial status (83.9% vs. 65.9%), higher financial well-being scores (5.14 vs. 3.19, p < 0.001), and lower crowding index (0.94 ± 0.4 vs. 1.09, p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that FI was not associated with physical (Beta = −1.48, 95% CI: −3.10; 0.13) and mental (Beta = −1.46, 95% CI −3.68; 0.75) QOL, after adjusting for other demographic and socioeconomic correlates. This association remained non-significant when introducing the financial well-being variable to the model. Mediation analyses showed that the FI variable mediated the association between financial well-being and physical QOL (Beta = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.02; 0.36), but not the mental QOL (Beta = −0.02, 95% CI: −0.20; 0.14).ConclusionFood insecurity was prevalent in our study sample, and it mediated the association between financial well-being and physical, but not mental, QOL parameters. These findings call for evidence-based policies and programs to help improve the food security and well-being of Lebanese households amidst these unprecedented circumstances.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial Wellbeing and Quality of Life Among a Sample of the Lebanese Population: The Mediating Effect of Food Insecurity

Karam

Haddad

Sacre³

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

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“…Burden due to Restricted access to resources such as food, regular health care, or medication was related to an increased risk for probable PTSD. Earlier studies conducted in the USA reported associations between food insecurity and distress, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic (Fang et al, 2021 ; Wolfson et al, 2021 ; Yenerall & Jensen, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Risk and protective factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic – findings from a pan-European study

Lotzin

Krause

Acquarini

et al. 2022

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a health emergency resulting in multiple stressors that may be related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: This study examined relationships between risk and protective factors, pandemic-related stressors, and PTSD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data from the European Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) ADJUST Study were used. N = 4,607 trauma-exposed participants aged 18 years and above were recruited from the general populations of eleven countries (Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden) from June to November 2020. We assessed sociodemographic (e.g. gender), pandemic-related (e.g. news consumption), and health-related (e.g. general health condition) risk and protective factors, pandemic-related stressors (e.g. fear of infection), and probable PTSD (PC-PTSD-5). The relationships between these variables were examined using logistic regression on multiple imputed data sets. Results: The prevalence of probable PTSD was 17.7%. Factors associated with an increased risk for PTSD were younger age, female gender, more than 3 h of daily pandemic-related news consumption (vs. no consumption), a satisfactory, poor, or very poor health condition (vs. a very good condition), a current or previous diagnosis of a mental disorder, and trauma exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors associated with a reduced risk for PTSD included a medium and high income (vs. very low income), face-to-face contact less than once a week or 3–7 times a week (vs. no contact), and digital social contact less than once a week or 1–7 days a week (vs. no contact). Pandemic-related stressors associated with an increased risk for PTSD included governmental crisis management and communication, restricted resources, restricted social contact, and difficult housing conditions. Conclusion: We identified risk and protective factors as well as stressors that may help identify trauma-exposed individuals at risk for PTSD, enabling more efficient and rapid access to care. HIGHLIGHTS N = 4,607 trauma-exposed adult participants were recruited from the general population during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence for probable posttraumatic stress disorder was 17.7%. We identified risk factors (e.g. poor health condition) and protective factors (e.g. social contact) associated with posttraumatic stress disorder.

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“… 35 36 Empirical findings support the premise that household food insecurity or poverty increases with large households 14 and those living in rural or remote areas. 16 It is also empirically recognised that socioeconomic factors such as the receipt of remittances, 37 assistance, 38–40 access to finances, 19 21 41–43 income 14 16 and consumption level 23 play a significant role in explaining household food insecurity. Additional evidence in the literature suggests that demographic information about the family head, such as age, gender, marital status, employment and health status, are important elements that explain household food security.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies obtained evidence of the socioeconomic and demographic factors that accounted for household food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] To contribute to this growing knowledge, this study set out to answer the following research questions:…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Household living conditions and food insecurity in Nigeria: a longitudinal study during COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2023

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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.

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Food Security, Financial Resources, and Mental Health: Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 20 publications

References 23 publications

Financial Wellbeing and Quality of Life Among a Sample of the Lebanese Population: The Mediating Effect of Food Insecurity

Financial Wellbeing and Quality of Life Among a Sample of the Lebanese Population: The Mediating Effect of Food Insecurity

Risk and protective factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic – findings from a pan-European study

Household living conditions and food insecurity in Nigeria: a longitudinal study during COVID-19 pandemic

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