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The relationship between hunger and mental health outcomes among school-going Ecuadorian adolescents

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Abstract

Purpose

Mental health and food insecurity are major public health issues among adolescents in Ecuador. Our objective was to determine the relationship between hunger, symptoms of depression, and suicidal ideation among school-going Ecuadorian adolescents.

Methods

We conducted crude and multivariable logistic regression models using data from the 2007 Global School-based Student Health Survey from Quito, Guayaquil, and Zamora, Ecuador (N = 5524). Hunger was defined as having gone hungry in the past 30 days due to lack of food in the home. Outcomes of interest were symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation with or without planning in the past year.

Results

Overall, 41.2 % (2200/5467) of students reported experiencing hunger. In multivariable logistic regression models, hunger had an increasing exposure–response relationship with symptoms of depression [sometimes hungry odds ratio (OR) 1.80, P = 0.0001; most of the time or always hungry OR 2.01, P < 0.0001] and suicidal ideation with planning (sometimes hungry OR 1.55, P = 0.04; most of the time or always hungry OR 2.63, P = 0.001).

Conclusion

Hunger was associated with increased odds of symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation with planning. Strategies to improve mental health among adolescents in Ecuador should consider the potential contribution of hunger and food insecurity.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all of the schools and students in Quito, Guayaquil, and Zamora that participated in this study and the Ministry of Public Health in Ecuador and the GSHS coordinator, Patricio Jácome Salazar. We are also grateful to Martha Alicia Cadavid (Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia) for her expert commentary on an early version of the manuscript, and to Timothy McManus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA) for providing additional information regarding the sampling procedure used in the Ecuadorian GSHS.

Authors’ contributions

MLR conceived the study; EAK contributed to the design of the study and all authors interpreted the results; MLR conducted the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; VA and EAK revised the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. MLR is the guarantor of the data and EAK is the corresponding author for the paper.

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  1. Elizabeth A. Kelvin

    Present address: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, City University of New York, 2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10035, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, City University of New York, 2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10035, USA

    Matthew L. Romo

  2. CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Matthew L. Romo & Elizabeth A. Kelvin

  3. Dirección de Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador

    Matthew L. Romo & Victoria Abril-Ulloa

  4. Doctor of Public Health Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Elizabeth A. Kelvin

Authors
  1. Matthew L. Romo
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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Kelvin.

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Romo, M.L., Abril-Ulloa, V. & Kelvin, E.A. The relationship between hunger and mental health outcomes among school-going Ecuadorian adolescents. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 51, 827–837 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1204-9

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