Cisneros-Vásquez Emily, Smith Lee, Yañéz-Sepúlveda Rodrigo, Olivares-Arancibia Jorge, Gutiérrez-Espinoza Héctor, Yon Dong Keon, Shin Jae Il, López-Gil José Francisco
School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Curr Dev Nutr. 2025 Apr 28;9(6):107453. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107453. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Food insecurity (FI) represents a critical public health concern, particularly for adolescents, as it compromises nutritional intake and mental health during crucial developmental stages.
This study examines the associations between FI and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of 712 adolescents aged 12-17 y from , Region of Murcia, Spain.
Data were sourced from the cross-sectional "Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities" study. FI was assessed via the Child Food Security Survey Module, whereas mental health symptoms were evaluated via the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Generalized linear models adjusted for socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors, and anthropometric variables were employed to estimate the relationships between FI and psychological outcomes.
Of the 712 adolescents (median age 14 y; 56% girls), 16.2% experienced FI. These adolescents had significantly greater risks of mental health symptoms: the likelihood of experiencing depression, anxiety, and stress was 2-3 times greater than that of their food-secure peers (odds ratios ranging from 2.45 to 3.35). Notably, the predicted probabilities of experiencing symptoms of anxiety and stress among food-insecure adolescents were 39.2% and 43.5%, respectively, whereas they were 16.1% and 19.8%, respectively, among their food-secure peers ( < 0.001 for both comparisons).
These results underscore the profound psychological toll of FI and highlight the necessity of targeted interventions to address this issue. Addressing FI through public health policies and psychosocial programs is essential for mitigating its detrimental impact on adolescent mental health.
粮食不安全是一个关键的公共卫生问题，对青少年而言尤为如此，因为它会在关键的发育阶段影响营养摄入和心理健康。
本研究调查了西班牙穆尔西亚地区712名12至17岁青少年样本中粮食不安全与抑郁、焦虑和压力症状之间的关联。
数据来自横断面的“健康饮食与日常生活活动”研究。通过儿童粮食安全调查模块评估粮食不安全状况，而心理健康症状则通过抑郁、焦虑和压力量表进行评估。采用经社会经济地位、生活方式因素和人体测量变量调整的广义线性模型来估计粮食不安全与心理结果之间的关系。
在712名青少年（中位年龄14岁；56%为女孩）中，16.2%经历了粮食不安全。这些青少年出现心理健康症状的风险显著更高：出现抑郁、焦虑和压力的可能性比粮食安全的同龄人高2至3倍（优势比范围为2.45至3.35）。值得注意的是，粮食不安全青少年出现焦虑和压力症状的预测概率分别为39.2%和43.5%，而粮食安全的同龄人中这一概率分别为16.1%和19.8%（两项比较均P< 0.001）。
这些结果强调了粮食不安全对心理造成的严重影响，并突出了针对性干预措施解决这一问题的必要性。通过公共卫生政策和社会心理项目解决粮食不安全问题对于减轻其对青少年心理健康的有害影响至关重要。
