Seasonality, Food Insecurity, and Clinical Depression in Post-Partum Women in a Rural Malawi Setting
- PDF / 759,672 Bytes
- 8 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 110 Downloads / 166 Views
Seasonality, Food Insecurity, and Clinical Depression in Post‑Partum Women in a Rural Malawi Setting Tiffany E. Mark1 · Ryan J. Latulipe2 · Martina Anto‑Ocrah3,4 · Geoffrey Mlongoti5 · David Adler3 · Joseph W. Lanning5,6 Accepted: 6 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Objectives We evaluate the association between food insecurity (FI) and clinical depression, and the modifying effects of seasonality on this association. Methods Food insecurity is assessed from 175 post-partum women in the rural Ntcheu District of central Malawi using the USAID’s Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Clinical depression is measured using a validated Chichewa version of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). Interviews were conducted from October 2016 to June 2017 and spanned 5 months of the dry season (April–November) and the 4 months of rainy season (December–March). Results After adjusting for age and parity, participants who reported high FI (HFIAS score ≥ 9) had 4.6 (95%CI 1.8–11.4) times the odds of meeting the cut-off for clinical depression (SRQ score ≥ 8). The effect was greater during the dry season (OR 9.9; 95%CI 2.0–48.6), than in the rainy season (OR 2.6; 95%CI 0.8–8.3) though the interaction term was not statistically significant (p = 0.18) Conclusions for Practice High FI is associated with diagnostic markers of clinical depression. Keywords Seasonality · Food insecurity · Post-partum depression · Environmental influence
Significance Statement
* Tiffany E. Mark [email protected] 1
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1800 Orleans St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
2
Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Presbyterian/Columbia & Cornell, 525 E 68th St Box #301, New York, NY 10065, USA
3
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
4
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
5
Food Systems, School for International Training, 1 Kipling Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05302, USA
6
Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, 355 S Jackson St, Athens, GA 30602, USA
What is already known on this subject? Threats to climate change have made rural agrarian populations in low-andmiddle income countries vulnerable to FI. Post-partum women of young infants are most vulnerable to clinical depression and represent an at-risk group who may be most sensitive to the detrimental effects of FI on mental health outcomes. What this study adds? Environmental factors are important to consider when evaluating risk factors for clinical depression, particularly among post-partum women in heavily agrarian, rural communities.
Introduction The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations defines food security as a state when an individual has safe, nutritious, sufficient and secure access to food to meet their dietary
Data Loading...
