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Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Melchior, M; Caspi, A; Howard, LM; Ambler, AP; Bolton, H; Mountain, N; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Pediatrics
October 2009

Children from food-insecure families (ie, families that lack access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food) are at risk for developmental problems. Food insecurity disproportionately occurs among low-socioeconomic status (SES) and low-income families; however, interventions that supplement families' income or diet have not eradicated food insecurity. This may be because food insecurity is also related to nonfinancial factors such as the presence of maternal mental health problems. To clarify whether addressing mothers' mental health problems may be a promising strategy for reducing the burden of food insecurity, we tested the hypothesis that low-SES families are especially vulnerable to food insecurity when the mother experiences depression, alcohol or drug abuse, psychosis spectrum disorder, or domestic violence.We used data from a nationally representative cohort of 1116 British families (the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Study). Food insecurity, family SES, maternal mental health and exposure to domestic violence, and children's behavioral outcomes were measured by using validated methods.Overall, 9.7% of study families were food-insecure. Among low-SES families, controlling for income variation, food insecurity co-occurred with maternal depression (odds ratio [OR]: 2.82 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62-4.93]), psychosis spectrum disorder (OR: 4.01 [95% CI: 2.03-7.94]), and domestic violence (OR: 2.36 [95% CI: 1.18-4.73]). In addition, food insecurity predicted elevated rates of children's behavior problems.Among families with young children, food insecurity is frequent, particularly when the mother experiences mental health problems. This suggests that interventions that improve women's mental health may also contribute to decreasing the burden of food insecurity and its impact on the next generation.

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Published In

Pediatrics

DOI

EISSN

1098-4275

ISSN

0031-4005

Publication Date

October 2009

Volume

124

Issue

4

Start / End Page

e564 / e572

Related Subject Headings

  • United Kingdom
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Poverty
  • Pediatrics
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Odds Ratio
  • Nutritional Status
  • Nutritional Requirements
  • Multivariate Analysis
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Melchior, M., Caspi, A., Howard, L. M., Ambler, A. P., Bolton, H., Mountain, N., & Moffitt, T. E. (2009). Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children. Pediatrics, 124(4), e564–e572. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-0583
Melchior, Maria, Avshalom Caspi, Louise M. Howard, Antony P. Ambler, Heather Bolton, Nicky Mountain, and Terrie E. Moffitt. “Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children.Pediatrics 124, no. 4 (October 2009): e564–72. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-0583.
Melchior M, Caspi A, Howard LM, Ambler AP, Bolton H, Mountain N, et al. Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children. Pediatrics. 2009 Oct;124(4):e564–72.
Melchior, Maria, et al. “Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children.Pediatrics, vol. 124, no. 4, Oct. 2009, pp. e564–72. Epmc, doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0583.
Melchior M, Caspi A, Howard LM, Ambler AP, Bolton H, Mountain N, Moffitt TE. Mental health context of food insecurity: a representative cohort of families with young children. Pediatrics. 2009 Oct;124(4):e564–e572.

Published In

Pediatrics

DOI

EISSN

1098-4275

ISSN

0031-4005

Publication Date

October 2009

Volume

124

Issue

4

Start / End Page

e564 / e572

Related Subject Headings

  • United Kingdom
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Poverty
  • Pediatrics
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Odds Ratio
  • Nutritional Status
  • Nutritional Requirements
  • Multivariate Analysis