Abstract
Food insecurity (FI) is an understudied risk factor for depression among perinatal women in sub-Saharan Africa. We therefore explored the longitudinal relationship between FI and depressive symptoms among a cohort of perinatal women of mixed HIV status (n = 371) in Kenya (NCT02974972, NCT02979418). Using longitudinal linear and logistic regressions with random effects, we assessed bivariate and adjusted associations between maternal FI and depressive symptoms. HIV status was also assessed as a potential effect modifier. At baseline, 58% of pregnant women had probable depression (CES-D score > 16) and 84% were severely food insecure. In adjusted analyses, severely food-insecure women had 5.90 greater odds (95% CI 2.32, 15.02, p < 0.001) of having probable depression and scored 4.58 points higher on the CES-D scale (SE: 1.04, p < 0.001) relative to food-secure women. HIV status did not modify the association between FI and depressive symptoms. Interventions to reduce FI may reduce perinatal depression, benefiting mothers and their infants.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 847-855 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | AIDS and behavior |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental health at the National Institutes of Health [Grant Numbers K23 MH116807 to ELT; K01 MH098902 and R21 MH108444 to SLY]. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for providing space within the FACES clinics for the work to be conducted, ethical and logistic support to conduct this research, and oversight in Kenya. We would also like to warmly thank study nurses and study trackers, as well as the mothers and their infants who participated in this study.
Keywords
- Depressive symptoms
- Food security
- HIV
- Kenya
- Postnatal depression
- Prenatal depression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Social Psychology