Focusing attention on the important association between food insecurity and psychological distress: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Over 750 million people worldwide are affected by food insecurity, a condition closely linked to socio-economic factors requiring more attention. By 2030, it is anticipated to be a worldwide priority. This meta-analysis and systematic review by Jandaghian-Bidgoli et al. (2024) investigates the links between food insecurity and psychological discomfort. Without regard to language, the authors searched for pertinent studies using the following databases: EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and the Cochrane Library (up to June 2024). To evaluate quality, the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was employed. Data from 44 cross-sectional studies were included in the systematic review, with 17 studies in the meta-analysis involving 2,267,012 and 1,953,636 participants, respectively. The findings corroborate the mounting data showing a link between psychological discomfort and food insecurity. Households with low income were most commonly affected. Psychological and diabetic distress were strongly linked to food insecurity, increasing the likelihood of distress by 329%. Secondary outcomes included sleep issues, anxiety, depression, reduced life satisfaction, obesity, and higher smoking rates. The authors conclude that a major stressor that has detrimental impacts on mental and physical health is food insecurity. Public health strategy and policy may be impacted by these findings. [NPID: Food insecurity, food security, psychological distress, stress]

Year: 2024

Reference: Jandaghian-Bidgoli, M., Kazemian, E., Shaterian, N., & Abdi, F. (2024). Focusing attention on the important association between food insecurity and psychological distress: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Nutrition, 10(1), 118. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-024-00922-1

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