Food insecurity and mental health of women during COVID-19: Evidence from a developing country

Abstract

Background This study examines the association between food insecurity and mental health of women during the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource poor setting. Materials and methods Data were collected at two time-points (wave 1 and 2) from 2402 women, one per household, participating in a larger study during extended COVID-19 lockdown in the rural areas of the southwest region of Bangladesh. The primary outcome of the analyses is the association between food insecurity, measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and stress level, measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), for women during the lockdown. General awareness about COVID-19 and attitude towards prescribed preventive measures were also measured since COVID-19 health concerns could exacerbate food insecurity. Results An individual-level evaluation of the effect of wave 2 FIES score on PSS score showed that worsening of the food security status increasing the stress level of the participants (95% CI: 1.61; 2.13; p-value: <0.001). Additionally, a significant negative association was observed between the PSS score and change in food security status between the two waves (Coefficient: -1.15, 95% CI: -1.30; -0.99, p-value: <0.001), indicating that deterioration in food security status over the pandemic period increasing the stress level. At the village level, the results showed a similar pattern. General awareness around ways coronavirus spreads was high, yet there were misperceptions at a higher level. Maintaining hand hygiene, wearing face masks outside the home, and going outside only when necessary were widely practised. Fewer respondents could maintain a 1.5-metre distance from others in the outside and maintained cough and sneeze etiquette. Conclusion The results indicate a higher stress level, a potential contributor to poor mental health, as food insecurity deteriorated. Policy initiatives in ameliorating immediate food insecurity during crises, improving long-term wellbeing, and expanding the reach of mental health support are warranted.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in Low and Middle Income Countries

“…Our findings corroborate insights from rural Bangladesh and Colombia, which show worsened maternal mental health during the pandemic (Hamadani et al, 2020;Moya et al, 2021). It also supports findings from Bangladesh, which demonstrate that food insecurity increases women's stress during the pandemic (Rahman et al, 2021), and findings from Chile showing depression and anxiety symptoms have increased among older adults since the onset of COVID-19 (Herrera et al, 2021). Our primary finding is consistent with the results of high-income country studies, including a meta-analysis of sixty-five longitudinal cohort studies that compare mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic (Robinson et al, 2022).…”

“…The virus sparked widespread fear of infection. The stigma of infection generated anxiety, deaths of family members caused anguish, loss of employment and income created economic stress and food insecurity, and mobility restrictions and lockdowns caused separation, loneliness, mental distress, and higher suicidal tendency (Bagcchi, 2020;Brooks et al, 2020;McIntyre & Lee, 2020;Rahman et al, 2021). While the available evidence documenting these effects has focused more on High Income Countries (HICs) (Aknin et al, 2021;Beutel et al, 2021;Daly & Robinson, 2021;Daly et al, 2020;Pierce et al, 2021;Proto & Quintana-Domeque, 2021;Raina et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2021;van der Velden et al, 2020;Varga et al, 2021), these phenomena may be more severe in LMICs.…”

Rising Food Prices and Farming Households Food Insecurity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Implications from SouthWest Nigeria

“…Vulnerable households are typically characterized by spending in excess of 65% of their total expenditure on food, the high percentage showing that they either had to drastically reduce the consumption of non-food items for food or vice versa [12][13][14][15][16]. Approximately 73 million people in Nigeria are faced with severe food insecurity annually, with many being in dire need of assistance, this number increasing with the COVID-19 pandemic [17,18]. Global food insecurity has been aggravated by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic that was first officially reported in Hubei Province of China in December 2019 [19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Food insecurity and symptoms of anxiety and depression disorder during the COVID- 19 pandemic: COVID-Inconfidentes, a population-based survey

“…Considering the influence of mental health on quality of life ( Rahman et al, 2021 ), it is critical to examine the association between FI and symptoms of GAD and MDD during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This is especially true because it is difficult to monitor the number of GAD and MDD diagnoses due to the lower use of health services by the population.…”