Comorbid eating, depressive, and anxiety psychopathology is associated with elevated shame in women with food insecurity

Abstract

Objective: To compare participants with current food insecurity and different psychopathology profiles on shame, guilt, anxiety, and depression using a cross-sectional design.Method: Women with current food insecurity (n = 99; 54% White) were placed into four groups based on their endorsement of symptoms of psychopathology: eating disorder with depression/anxiety comorbidity (ED-C group; n = 17), depression/ anxiety only (Depression/anxiety group; n = 34), eating disorder only (ED group; n = 12), and No-diagnosis group (n = 36). Groups were compared on self-report measures of shame, guilt, depression, and anxiety using analysis of covariance. Results:The presence of an eating disorder was associated with quadruple the risk of screening positive for comorbid depression and anxiety. The ED-C group reported elevated shame relative to the ED and No-diagnosis groups. The ED-C group reported the highest levels of anxiety, followed by the Depression/anxiety group, and the ED and No-diagnosis groups.Discussion: The presence of an eating disorder with comorbidity among women with food insecurity is associated with heightened shame. Given shame's status as a transdiagnostic predictor of psychopathology, it may serve as a putative mechanism underlying the relationship between food insecurity and eating disorder comorbidity.Public Significance Statement: Women with food insecurity and an ED were more likely to also screen positive for depression and/or anxiety than women with food insecurity and no ED. Overlap between ED, depression, and anxiety was associated with elevated shame, a harmful, maladaptive emotion with negative psychosocial consequences.

A positive association between food insecurity and the prevalence of overactive bladder in U.S. adults

“…Several studies indicate that physical limitations in acquiring groceries (31.4%) or preparing meals (22.7%) pose more significant challenges for older adults than financial constraints (merely 14.6%) (31,32). Moreover, the distressing nature of food insecurity or uncertainty regarding the availability of the next meal predisposes individuals to the development of anxiety and depression, which are the cause of suffering from OAB (33,34). In turn, the presence of poor mental health conditions intensifies both the financial and physical hardships, thus establishing a detrimental cycle.…”