Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 19, Issue 3, 2017, Pages 631-637

Food Insecurity and Risk of Depression Among Refugees and Immigrants in South Africa (Article)

Maharaj V.* , Tomita A. , Thela L. , Mhlongo M. , Burns J.K.
  • a Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag 7, Congella, Durban, 4013, South Africa
  • b Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, United States, Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P.O. Box 198, Mtubatuba, Durban, 3935, South Africa
  • c Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag 7, Congella, Durban, 4013, South Africa
  • d Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag 7, Congella, Durban, 4013, South Africa
  • e Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag 7, Congella, Durban, 4013, South Africa

Abstract

South Africa’s refugee population has grown considerably over the last decade. Both food insecurity and mental illness are common in developing countries, but this relationship remains unexamined in an African refugee population. 335 adult refugees in Durban, South Africa were interviewed using a self-report of food insecurity and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. The proportion of those who responded ‘often true’ to not having enough food and eating less was 23.1 and 54.3 %, respectively. The proportion of individuals with a significant level of anxiety and depressive symptomatology was 49.4 and 54.6 %, respectively. The adjusted logistic regression indicated that not eating enough was significantly associated with anxiety (aOR = 4.52, 95 % CI: 2.09–9.80) and depression (aOR = 4.51, 95 % CI: 2.01–10.09). Similarly, eating less was significantly associated with anxiety (aOR = 2.88, 95 % CI: 1.56–5.31) and depression (aOR = 2.88, 95 % CI: 1.54–5.39). The high prevalence of food insecurity, and its relationship to mental illness, highlight the importance of addressing basic needs among this population. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Food security South Africa Depression Refugees Anxiety

Index Keywords

anxiety prospective study depression refugee mental health human epidemiology Refugees sociobiology middle aged Prospective Studies Food Supply Aged ethnology catering service South Africa Young Adult Humans migrant psychology Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics adult age sex factor Sex Factors Age Factors
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84961216022&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-016-0370-x&partnerID=40&md5=b9a932c4ab9b2ee2bb7a327536ad3e85
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-016-0370-x
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English