Xu Guodong, Li Tao, Li Lian
Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
Department of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 20;15(1):17526. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-02886-z.
Violent behaviors among adolescents are a major public health concern. The association between food insecurity (FI) and violent behaviors among adolescents has not been adequately researched. This study assessed the pooled associations between FI and violent behaviors among in-school adolescents from 66 countries. This study involved cross-sectional data from the Global School-Based Student Health Surveys. We calculated the pooled prevalence rates of FI and violent behaviors (physical fight and physical attack). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate country-specific associations between FI and violent behaviors. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the pooled associations. A total of 234,216 adolescents aged 12-17 years were included in our study. The overall prevalence rates of moderate FI, severe FI, physical fight, and physical attack among adolescents were 40.2%, 7.1%, 18.9%, and 31.8%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, exposure to moderate FI or severe FI among adolescents was significantly associated with physical fight, with pooled odds ratios (ORs) of 1.18 and 1.52, respectively; meanwhile, the ORs for physical attack were 1.49 and 1.88, respectively. The positive association between FI and violent behaviors was stronger in girls than in boys. FI and violent behaviors are a serious concern among in-school adolescents and are positively associated with each other. Interventions targeting food safety in schools may help to avoid violent behaviors among adolescents.
青少年暴力行为是一个重大的公共卫生问题。粮食不安全（FI）与青少年暴力行为之间的关联尚未得到充分研究。本研究评估了来自66个国家的在校青少年中FI与暴力行为之间的合并关联。本研究涉及全球基于学校的学生健康调查的横断面数据。我们计算了FI和暴力行为（肢体打架和人身攻击）的合并患病率。采用多变量逻辑回归分析来评估FI与暴力行为之间的国家特异性关联。进行荟萃分析以评估合并关联。我们的研究共纳入了234,216名12至17岁的青少年。青少年中中度FI、重度FI、肢体打架和人身攻击的总体患病率分别为40.2%、7.1%、18.9%和31.8%。在调整协变量后，青少年接触中度FI或重度FI与肢体打架显著相关，合并比值比（OR）分别为1.18和1.52；同时，人身攻击的OR分别为1.49和1.88。FI与暴力行为之间的正相关在女孩中比在男孩中更强。FI和暴力行为是在校青少年中的一个严重问题，且彼此呈正相关。针对学校食品安全的干预措施可能有助于避免青少年中的暴力行为。
