Sample characteristics by food insecurity status based on CCHS 2007–2008, 2011–2012 and 2017–2018
| Overall | Food insecurity status | ||||
| Secure | Marginally insecure | Moderately insecure | Severely insecure | ||
| Mandatory outcomes | |||||
| Fair or poor mental health (n=53 900) | 5.9 | 5.1 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 20.7 |
| Mood disorders (n=55 600) | 5.5 | 4.6 | 7.9 | 12.6 | 17.3 |
| Anxiety disorders (n=55 600) | 7.7 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 12.5 | 21.0 |
| Optional outcomes | |||||
| K-10 clinical distress (n=12 400) | 18.5 | 16.8 | 28.1 | 32.9 | 36.0 |
| CIDI-SF major depression (n=10 800) | 6.9 | 5.9 | 8.7 | 14.4 | 23.1 |
| Suicidal ideation (n=40 000) | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 4.5 |
| Covariates (n=55 700) | |||||
| Female | 48.8 | 48.1 | 52.4 | 53.5 | 54.1 |
| Age (years), mean±SE | 18.19±0.002 | 18.24±0.002 | 17.67±0.009 | 18.10±0.007 | 17.61±0.018 |
| Household income (2018 Canadian dollar), mean±SE | 98 528±342 | 105 635±380 | 64 520±969 | 48 697±590 | 40 394±1241 |
| Income imputed by Statistics Canada | 30.7 | 31.2 | 29.2 | 28.0 | 14.8 |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| White | 68.6 | 70.1 | 61.1 | 59.4 | 54.6 |
| Black | 3.4 | 2.9 | 5.0 | 7.1 | 12.8 |
| Indigenous | 21.2 | 21.3 | 25.7 | 19.1 | 8.7 |
| Other ethnicities | 5.3 | 4.4 | 6.3 | 12.4 | 19.9 |
| Missing | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.6 |
| Highest education in household | |||||
| High school incomplete | 2.7 | 1.9 | 4.7 | 8.6 | 10.2 |
| High school graduate | 10.9 | 9.9 | 15.0 | 17.8 | 21.9 |
| Some college | 4.7 | 4.2 | 6.2 | 9.4 | 7.7 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 71.3 | 73.6 | 62.6 | 54.1 | 50.0 |
| Missing | 10.4 | 10.3 | 11.6 | 10.0 | 9.7 |
| Housing tenure | |||||
| Renter | 28.9 | 24.3 | 48.1 | 62.8 | 70.9 |
| Homeowner | 70.4 | 75.1 | 50.7 | 36.4 | 28.6 |
| Missing | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Household type | |||||
| Couple with children | 65.0 | 68.4 | 51.4 | 40.6 | 33.7 |
| Couple without children | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 6.6 | 4.6 |
| Lone parents | 18.3 | 16.2 | 28.2 | 30.9 | 44.4 |
| Other household types | 11.2 | 10.1 | 14.6 | 20.8 | 16.8 |
| Missing | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Jurisdiction | |||||
| Ontario | 40.5 | 41.0 | 37.8 | 37.0 | 39.3 |
| British Columbia | 12.7 | 12.4 | 13.2 | 14.7 | 16.3 |
| Quebec | 21.7 | 21.9 | 24.0 | 18.9 | 14.3 |
| Alberta | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.3 | 12.2 | 11.7 |
| Saskatchewan | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.1 |
| Manitoba | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.0 |
| Maritime provinces | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 7.1 |
| Territories | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.0 |
| CCHS cycle | |||||
| Cycle 2007–2008 | 33.3 | 33.6 | 30.2 | 32.7 | 31.6 |
| Cycle 2011–2012 | 34.0 | 33.8 | 35.4 | 36.5 | 26.0 |
| Cycle 2017–2018 | 32.6 | 32.6 | 34.3 | 30.8 | 42.3 |
| Number of respondents | 55 700 | 47 450 | 2950 | 4500 | 800 |
Numbers are weighted by CCHS person weight. Mandatory outcomes are based on survey questions requiring mandatory answering from all jurisdictions. Optional outcomes are based on survey questions of which jurisdictions can choose to opt out. Maritime provinces include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Territories include Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Numbers of survey respondents are rounded to protect identity. Original to this manuscript.
CCHS, Canadian Community Health Survey; CIDI-SF, Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form; K-10, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale.