ArticleBMC public health2024
Association between socioeconomic position of the household head, food insecurity and psychological health: an application of propensity score matching.
Article in BMC public health, 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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychosocial Determinants of Behavioral Health in Latinx Americans Nationwide: A Systematic Review Highlighting Cultural Strength Factors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Nutrition-sensitive agriculture programme impacts women's mental health via food security in rural Bangladesh.BMJ global health · 2026Trial
- Impacts of climate change on mental health and its underlying mechanisms: an umberella review.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Review
- Associations Between Mediterranean Diet, Processed Food Consumption, and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: Cross-Sectional Study Among Israeli Adults.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Food Insecurity Is Associated With Current Asthma, Wheeze, and Lung Function in Children and Adults.The clinical respiratory journal · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMental health outcomes can be influenced by various factors, one of which has recently gained attention, namely food security. Food security is paramount to maintaining not only physical, but also mental health. There is an increasing need to understand the interplay between food insecurity (FI) and mental health outcomes, especially among vulnerable populations. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of FI on psychological health (anxiety and depression) as well as to examine the modifying effect of socioeconomic position on this relationship.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Maputo City, Mozambique, in 1,842 participants. Data were collected through structured interviews using a modified version of the US Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Module to measure FI, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to measure anxiety and depression. A composite variable for psychological health was created. Propensity score matching and interaction effect analyses were employed to examine the effects of FI on psychological health and the moderating role of socioeconomic position.
resultsOf the 1,174 participants randomly assigned to propensity score matching, 787 were exposed to FI while 387 were unexposed. The analysis revealed stark disparities in psychological health outcomes associated with FI. The risk of poor psychological health among those exposed to FI was 25.79%, which was significantly higher than the 0.26% in unexposed individuals. The risk difference was 25.54% points (95% CI: 22.44-28.63), with a risk ratio of 99.82. Our assessment of population attributable fractions indicated that nearly all the risk for poor psychological health in the exposed group could be ascribed to FI. The interaction effects analysis revealed that socioeconomic status modifies this relationship. Specifically, heads of food-insecure households with a lower socioeconomic position tended to report poor mental health compared to their food-secure counterparts with a higher position.
conclusionsThe findings underscore the profound impact of FI on the mental health of household heads in Maputo City, socioeconomic position being a significant modifier. Addressing household FI along with the socioeconomic position of household heads could be pivotal to mental health promotion, especially among vulnerable populations.
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