Impact of Common Mental Disorders on Food Insecurity among Women in Butajira, Ethiopia: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Background:There is a growing body of evidence for an association between common mental disorders and food insecurity. However, since most studies have been cross-sectional, it has not been possible to differentiate the direction of the association. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of common mental disorders on food insecurity using a prospective cohort study design. Methods: The study was carried out in Butajira, south-central Ethiopiaamong mothers who were enrolled in the CMaMiEcohort. A total of 1815 enrolled women were evaluatedfor symptoms of CMD using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) at two time points; August 2012 (time 1, T1) and in August 2014 (time 2, T2). Probable CMD was defined when mothers reportedsix or more affirmative (yes) responsesto the SRQ-20. Household food insecuritywas measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) in December 2017 (time 3, T3). Zero inflated negative binomial regression was used to determine the independent effects of CMDs at T1 and T2 on food insecurity score at T3. APoisson working model was also used to determine the risk of being severely food insecure associated with having CMD.