Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39096770›Full record

ArticleThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2024

Cross-sectional association of food insecurity with loneliness in older adults: The role of sex, age, and psychosomatic factors.

Razak M Gyasi, Emelia Aikins, André Hajek, Jones Opoku-Ware, Benjamin Appiah Osei, Joana Kwabena-Adade, Louis Jacob, Masoud Rahmati, George Dakurah, Karl Peltzer

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Article in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Food Insecurity and Loneliness in the Former Soviet Countries.International journal of public health · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Razak M GyasiAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya; National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: RGyasi.Research@gmail.com.
Emelia AikinsDepartment of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
André HajekDepartment of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg, Germany.
Jones Opoku-WareDepartment of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Benjamin Appiah OseiDepartment of Hospitality and Tourism Studies, School of Business, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Joana Kwabena-AdadeDepartment of General and Liberal Studies, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
Louis JacobResearch and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, 42, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain; AP-HP, Université Paris Cité, Lariboisière-Fernand Widal Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 75010 Paris, France; Université Paris Cité, Inserm U1153, Epidemiology of Ageing and Neurodegenerative Diseases (EpiAgeing), 75010 Paris, France.
Masoud RahmatiCEReSS-Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran.
George DakurahDepartment of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Karl PeltzerDepartment of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveFood insecurity (FI) is a critical social determinant of poor psychosocial health. While data on the specific roles of sex and age in the FI-loneliness link among older adults are limited, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. This study examines the age-sex-specific associations of FI with loneliness among older adults in Ghana and quantifies the extent to which psychosomatic factors mediate the association.

methodsWe analyzed cross-sectional data from the Aging, Health, Psychological, and Health-seeking Behavior Study in Ghana. The past 30-day FI was assessed using items on hunger and breakfast skipping frequency due to a lack of resources. We assessed loneliness severity with the University of California, Los Angeles 3-item Loneliness Scale. Multivariable OLS regressions and bootstrapping mediation analysis using the Hayes PROCESS macro plug-in were used to evaluate the associations.

resultsWe included 1,201 individuals aged ≥50 years (mean = 62.9 [SD = 11.9]; women = 63.3%). The prevalence of loneliness was 17.7%. The prevalence of moderate and severe FI was 44.0% and 8.5%, respectively. In the adjusted model, greater FI was significantly associated with loneliness severity (B = .22, SE = .029, p < .001). We found significant interactive effects of FI × age (B = -.17, SE = .023, p < .01) and FI × sex (B = -.28, SE = .036, p < .001) on loneliness. Thus, the FI-loneliness link was respectively more marked among women (B = .25, SE = .035, p < .001) and ≥65 age groups (B = .34, SE = .041, p < .001) than men (B = .16, SE = .051, p < .01) and those aged 50-64 (B = .22; SE = .040, p < .001). Finally, comorbid depression/anxiety (41.07%), hopelessness (48.6%), worthlessness (42.1%), functional limitations (8.2%), and pain severity (6.4%) mediated the FI-loneliness association.

conclusionsAge- and sex-specific associations between FI and loneliness exist among older Ghanaians. Addressing FI in concert with psychosomatic problems in older adults may contribute meaningfully to reducing loneliness in later life.

Indexed as

Food InsecurityLonelinessAgedAge FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionFemaleGhanaHumansHungerMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceSex FactorsFood insecurityHungerOlder adultsPerceived isolationSocial determinant of health

Identifiers

PMID39096770
PMCPMC12880056

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.