rss
J Epidemiol Community Health 2008;62:980-986 doi:10.1136/jech.2007.068460
  • Research report

Food insecurity, stressful life events and symptoms of anxiety and depression in east Africa: evidence from the Gilgel Gibe growth and development study

  1. C Hadley1,2,
  2. A Tegegn3,
  3. F Tessema3,
  4. J A Cowan1,4,
  5. M Asefa3,
  6. S Galea1,5
  1. 1
    Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  2. 2
    Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  3. 3
    Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
  4. 4
    School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  5. 5
    Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York City, New York, USA
  1. Dr C Hadley, Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 218D Anthropology Building, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; chadley{at}emory.edu
  • Accepted 13 January 2008

Abstract

Objectives: Common mental disorders are a major contributor to the burden of disease in developing countries. An assessment was carried out of whether food insecurity and exposure to stressful life events, two common features of life in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are associated with symptoms of mental disorders among adults.

Methods: The Gilgel Gibe Growth and Development Study (GGGDS) is an ongoing cohort study in rural Ethiopia. Participants of the GGGDS were randomly selected from households from a complete census of persons living in the area. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire were used to assess anxiety and depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Results: Among 902 adult participants, food insecurity, stressful life events and symptoms of common mental disorders were highly prevalent. In separate multivariate models adjusting for potential confounders, food insecurity and stressful life events were independently associated with high symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

Conclusions: Potentially modifiable stressors may influence variation in common mental disorders in Ethiopia, and SSA more generally. These findings suggest that the negative effects of food insecurity extend beyond nutritional outcomes and that interventions that promote food security may also positively influence adult mental health in the region.

Footnotes

  • Funding: This study was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (HD047861) and grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program.

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Ethics approval: Ethics approval was obtained.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.

Latest infectious diseases and epidemilogy jobs

Ophthalmology Jobs

Show me all >>