Association between food insecurity and major depressive episodes amid Covid-19 pandemic: results of four consecutive epidemiological surveys from southern Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between household food insecurity (FI) and major depressive episodes (MDE) amid Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Design: Cross-sectional study carried out with data from four consecutive population-based studies. Setting: The study was conducted between May and June 2020, in Bagé, a Brazilian southern city. Household FI was measured using the short-form version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Utilizing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, we used two different approaches to define MDE: the cut-off point of ≥9 and the diagnostic criteria proposed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-R). Association between FI and MDE was analysed using crude and adjusted Poisson regression models. Participants: 1550 adults (≥20 years old). Results: The prevalence of household FI was 29.4% (95%C.I 25.0; 34.4). MDE prevalence varied from 4.4% (95%C.I. 3.1 to 6.0), when we used the DSM-IV-R criteria to define this condition, to 9.6% (95%C.I 7.3; 12.5) of the sample, when we used the cut-off point of ≥9 as definition. Prevalence of MDE was more than two times higher in those individuals living with FI, independent of the criteria adopted to define the outcome. Adjustment for potential confounders did not change the association’s magnitude. Conclusion: Household FI has been positively associated with MDE amid Covid-19 pandemic, independent of sociodemographic characteristics of participants. Actions are needed to warrant basic living conditions to avoid food insecurity and hunger and its consequences for the Brazilian population, especially those consequences linked to mental health disorders.

Excess suicides in Brazil: Inequalities according to age groups and regions during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Excess deaths due to suicide in non-elderly women have also been described in Japan, and these were possibly related to the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic or by working in the most affected sectors, such as services, retail, and travel, as well as due to possible gender discrimination in dismissal processes (Nomura et al, 2021; Ueda et al, 2021). Another explanation would be the further pressure on women to take on domestic and maternal health care functions, activities that may have been difficult by the closure of schools to young children or by the need to ensure the food security at home, for example, mainly when the Brazilian government interrupted the emergency cash transfer program at the end of 2020 (Flor et al, 2022; Nomura et al, 2021; Santos et al, 2022). One last explanatory hypothesis would be the increase in violence against women in the context of the pandemic (Flor et al, 2022).…”

SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and COVID-19 among 5 years-old Amazonian children and their association with poverty and food insecurity

“…Compared with 2019, approximately 14 million more people in Latin America and the Caribbean were affected by hunger in 2020 ( https://data.unicef.org/resources/sofi-2021/ ). Over one-third of households in Brazil already experienced some degree of food insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic [ 40 ] and this proportion is estimated to have increased to 55% in 2020 ( http://olheparaafome.com.br/VIGISAN_Inseguranca_alimentar.pdf ), due to the reduced economic activity and increased food prices during the pandemic [ 38 – 41 ]. Importantly, the economic crisis aggravated by the pandemic has led families to rely on cheaper foods, most of which ultra-processed products that are rich in sugar, sodium, and fat but lack essential nutrients [ 40 ].…”

Relationship between sleep duration and quality and mental health before and during COVID-19 pandemic: Results of population-based studies in Brazil

“…To define positive screening for MDE, the cut-off point of ≥9 proposed by Santos et al [ 22 ] was used. This cut-off presented high sensitivity and specificity and have already been used in previous population-based studies in Brazil [ [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ].…”