A Comparison of Nutritional Status of Women Suffering from Mental Illness in Urban and Rural Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

About 16.05% of the adult population in Bangladesh suffers from mental illness. 74% of these mentally impaired patients live in rural areas and are socially disadvantaged. Studies have identified mental disorder to be a risk factor for involuntary weight loss and malnutrition. This study aims to explore the differences in nutritional status among women suffering from mental illness from urban and rural areas based on their socio-economic status. This cross sectional study has been conducted for over a period of four months that covered six divisions of the country. A total of 73 participants aged from 15-60 were purposively selected to represent urban & well off population and the rest 73 were selected to represent rural & socially disadvantaged population. Height, weight and BMI were significantly lower in all participants from rural settings. About 18% of all participants from rural areas have a BMI 18kg/m 2 or less. Mean body fat percentage (BF%) is significantly higher in all subgroups from urban areas (P<0.001) comparing to those from rural settings. No significance was observed in EI:BMR ratios. Mean EI:BMR ratio was over 1.4 in all subgroups from both urban and rural settings except for 46-60 years participants from urban areas. The highest EI:BMR ratio has been observed in the subgroup of 31-45 years aged women from urban areas. The study has identified that mentally impaired women even from well off families or from urban settings have an inferior nutritional status comparing to those of healthy women from same settings. The nutritional status of mentally impaired women from rural areas or from lower socio-demographic settings is even worse. Low BMI and low energy intake indicates vulnerability of mentally impaired women to malnutrition in Bangladesh.