The association of family food security and depression in mothers having primary school children in Ray-Iran

BACKGROUND: As a major public health problem, food insecurity has adverse social and psychological effects, in addition to the impact on public health. This study aimed to determine the association of household food security and depression in mothers with primary school children in Ray County. METHODS: This descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 430 mothers with primary school children in the spring 2010. During a two-stage cluster sampling, an 18-items food security questionnaire (USDA) and the Beck depression inventory were completed via interviewing mothers. Chi-squared test, one-way analysis of variance, simple regression and stepwise multiple regression were used to describe and analyze data, and to identify related factors using SPSS-16 software. RESULTS: The prevalence of food insecurity and depression in mothers were 50.2% and 51.4% respectively. Also 34.6% of mothers in the "food secure" group were depressed and 77.8% in "food insecure with hunger" group were depressed and this difference was statistically significant. Twelve out of the 20 examined variables (age, family size, number of children, economic status, home ownership, employment households, educational level of the mother and also the head of household, height, energy intake, and carbohydrate and protein intakes) were significantly associated with food security and depression. Food insecurity and depression in mothers with primary school children in Ray County showed a significant positive correlation (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of household food insecurity and depression in the studied population were high. Since there is a significant relationship between food insecurity and depression, more attention must be paid to this group.