New Delhi: Children and adolescents living in food-insecure households have a 55 per cent higher frequency of visits to a doctor for mental health issues than those with adequate food supplies, according to a study. The research, published recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, looked at population health survey data from the Canadian Community Health Survey on 32,321 children and adolescents.
Researchers used a validated measurement tool to categorise household food access as food-secure, marginally food-insecure, moderately food-insecure, or severely food-insecure. Of the total, 5,216 (16.1 per cent) were living in food-insecure, 1,952 (6 per cent) in marginally food-insecure, 2,348 (7.3 per cent) in moderately food-insecure and 916 (2.8 per cent) in severely food-insecure households.
Researchers also found that children and adolescents in food-insecure homes had a 74 per cent higher prevalence of past-year acute care visits, defined as an emergency department visit or hospitalisation for a mental or substance use disorder. The most common visits were for neurodevelopmental disorders, mood and anxiety disorders followed by social problems and other mental health issues.
"The coexistence of household food insecurity and service use for mental and substance use disorders here is problematic, given that both of these conditions have each been found to have negative consequences for social, educational and developmental outcomes among children and adolescents," said Kelly Anderson, associate professor at Western University in Canada.