Abstract
A growing number of studies have investigated the association between food insecurity and mental health, focusing on depression and anxiety; however, most of these studies are located in the Global North. There is a lack of studies in the Global South that have synthesised the evidence of the association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression and have investigated what experts think about the association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression. Hence, this study intends to provide a review of the available literature on the association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression in the Global South and to interview experts on the relationship between food insecurity and anxiety and depression in the Global South.
This study used a multi-method design to investigate the relationship between food insecurity and anxiety and depression in the Global South. The multi-method design comprised two parts: Part A included a systematic review, and Part B included qualitative interviews. For Part A, peer-reviewed articles from 2005 to 2023 written in English, conducted in the Global South, measured food insecurity, anxiety and/or depression and had food insecurity as an independent variable and anxiety and/or depression as dependent variables were included for review. For Part B, the interviewees were identified using purposeful criterion sampling. Participants were eligible if they had published three or more peer-reviewed articles on one of the following: mental health, food insecurity, environmental impact, anxiety and/or depression. Interviews ranged from 30-90 minutes and took place via Microsoft Teams. A thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Furthermore, a transformative paradigm helped guide this study, and within the transformative paradigm, the study drew into environmental epidemiology to understand the association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression.
The findings of this study indicate an association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression in the Global South. In addition, the study results suggest two pathways by which food insecurity is associated with anxiety and depression: the nutritional and psychological pathways. Furthermore, this study found ways to mitigate the issue of food insecurity and anxiety and depression, including food gardening, financial interventions, and nutrition supplementation.
The results suggest that even after addressing confounding variables such as age, race, gender, household size, level of education, marital status, income, social capital, place of residence, and self-rated health, food insecurity is associated with anxiety and depression in the Global South. The study's findings are significant as they provide a better understanding of the association between food insecurity and anxiety and depression, giving insight into what can be done to mitigate this issue.
Keywords: food insecurity, anxiety, depression, Global South