Food Insecurity and Coping Mechanisms: Impact on Maternal Mental Health and Child Malnutrition.

BACKGROUND

Household food insecurity (HFI) is a serious public health concern in Lebanon. Adverse mental health issues have been reported among food insecure households in addition to physical and nutritional complications. Caregivers in food insecure families tend to adopt different coping mechanisms to mitigate the effects of food insecurity (FI) on their children.

OBJECTIVE

This cross-sectional observational study aimed to explore the relationship between FI, maternal depression, child malnutrition, and differential coping mechanisms adopted by mothers.

METHODS

A total of 219 women were enrolled in this study; FI was assessed using the household food insecurity assessment (HFIAS), maternal depression using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and their children's nutritional status through recall of anthropometric measurements. Pearson's correlations and logistic regressions were performed to evaluate the associations between HFI, maternal depression, and children's nutritional status.

RESULTS

A strong positive correlation between HFI and maternal depression ( = 0.001) and children's nutritional status ( = 0.008) was shown. Logistic regressions revealed that being food secure decreased the risk of maternal depression (OR = 0.328, 95% CI 0.125-0.863, = 0.024), while it did not predict children's nutritional status. Eight main themes related to coping mechanisms were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the understudied relationship between food insecurity and maternal depression, showing an increased prevalence of HFI among residents in Lebanon with a positive correlation with increased maternal depression. Further investigation is warranted to better explore how to mitigate the negative impact of food insecurity on mental health, maternal nutritional needs, and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices in Lebanon.