Food Insecurity, Social Networks and Symptoms of Depression among Men and Women in Rural Uganda: a Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Study

Authors

Jessica M. Perkins, Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalFollow
Viola N. Nyakato, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Bernard Kakuhikire, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Alexander C. Tsai, Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalFollow
SV Subramanian, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, MA
David Bangsberg, Portland State UniversityFollow
Nicholas A. Christakis, Yale Institute for Network Science, Yale University, New Haven, CTFollow

Published In

Public Health Nutrition

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2018

Subjects

Food security -- Uganda, Food security -- Psychological aspects, Depression, Social networks -- Uganda

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between food insecurity and depression symptom severity stratified by sex, and test for evidence of effect modification by social network characteristics.

Design: A population-based cross-sectional study. The nine-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale captured food insecurity. Five name generator questions elicited network ties. A sixteen-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist for Depression captured depression symptom severity. Linear regression was used to estimate the association between food insecurity and depression symptom severity while adjusting for potential confounders and to test for potential network moderators.

Setting: In-home survey interviews in south-western Uganda. Subjects: All adult residents across eight rural villages; 96% response rate (n 1669).

Results: Severe food insecurity was associated with greater depression symptom severity (b=0·4, 95% CI 0·3, 0·5, P

Description

Copyright © The Authors 2017

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017002154

DOI

10.1017/S1368980017002154

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25137

Citation Details

Perkins, J. M., Nyakato, V. N., Kakuhikire, B., Tsai, A. C., Subramanian, S. V., Bangsberg, D. R., & Christakis, N. A. (2018). Food insecurity, social networks and symptoms of depression among men and women in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional, population-based study. Public Health Nutrition, 21(5), 838-848.