Food insecurity during COVID-19 worsens mental health in women

Food insecurity compounds stress in women, potentially contributing to worse mental health, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a recent Bangladesh study has found.

The study included 2,402 women from whom data were collected at two waves: 3 weeks after the lockdown was imposed (wave 1: 14 April to 3 May 2020) and another 3–4 weeks after (wave 2). At each wave, phone interviews were conducted to assess food insecurity, as a proxy measure for financial stress, as well as mental health. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used for the respective variables.

During wave 1, most of the respondents had a FIES score of 2 (67 percent), indicating that their households were moderately food insecure; 17 percent scored 1 (mildly insecure) and 8 percent scored zero (no insecurity). Notably, 8 percent of women said that they were under severe food insecurity.

During the second wave, moderate food insecurity remained predominant (56 percent), followed by no (21 percent), mild (16 percent), and severe (7 percent) food insecurity. Thirty-five percent of respondents said that their food situation had deteriorated between waves 1 and 2.

In terms of PSS outcomes, around 40 percent of participants said that they could solve their problems, that things were going as wanted, and that they had control over everything. However, feelings of loss of control, anger over things they could not control, and panic were also common.

Worsening food status was associated with increasing PSS stress at the individual (coefficient, –1.15, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], –1.30 to –0.99; p≤0.001) and village (coefficient, –1.02, 95 percent CI, –1.52 to –0.53; p≤0.001) level.