Severe food insecurity and mental health among women living in extreme poverty in Ceara, Brazil

Introdução: a insegurança alimentar tem efeitos importantes e agravantes na saúde humana, especialmente na saúde mental das mães e crianças.Objetivo: avaliar as inter-relações do Transtorno mental comum (TMC) e Insegurança Alimentar, em famílias assistidas por programa adicional de transferência de renda no Ceará.Método: estudo transversal foi realizado no Ceará, caracterizado como um dos estados mais pobres do país, em uma amostra de 484 famílias, com crianças menores de seis anos, beneficiárias do Cartão Mais Infância Ceará (CMIC), em 24 municípios. Foram analisados o perfil social e econômico das famílias, moradia, dados sobre a saúde e educação, violência, saúde mental, insegurança alimentar, trabalho e renda. Utilizou-se modelos de Regressão de Poisson, ajustados para o efeito amostral.Resultados: das 484 famílias, 86% encontravam-se em situação de IA;36% apresentavam IA Grave. A presença do TMC materno aumentou em 73% o risco de IA Grave na família (p<0,001). A análise de regressão, mostrou que o TMC se manteve como o fator de risco associado à IA Grave, com mães com TMC mostrando um risco ajustado 64% mais elevado, em comparação às outras mães (p=0,002). Não dispor de água tratada no domicílio, apresentou uma medida ajustada de 55% maior risco de IA Grave (p=0,011).Conclusão: as mães assistidas possuem elevada prevalência de TMC e com perfil de alta vulnerabilidade, sendo necessário suporte social e nutricional, acompanhamento da saúde mental dessas mulheres, para melhor cuidar dos filhos.Palavras-chave: segurança alimentar, criança, saúde mental, nutrição, avaliação de programas.

Backgroung: the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (FI) in the world will reach 2.4 billion people in 2020. Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) affect one in five people, reaching all social classes.Objective: to examine the associations between CMDs and FI in the most vulnerable population, mothers of young children.Methods: population-based cross-sectional observational study, interviewing 484 families with children under six years of age, beneficiaries of the cash transfer program Cartão Mais Infância Ceará (CMIC), in 24 municipalities of Ceara. Poisson regression models were used, adjusted for the sampling effect.Results: 86% of the families were in a situation of FI, with 36% expressing a severe FI, a condition compatible with hunger. In relation to CMDs, it was observed that the prevalence of severe FI increased significantly, affecting 53% of mothers with CMDs against 31% of those without the disorder (p<0.001). Regression analysis showed that CMDs remained the risk factor most associated with severe FI, with mothers with CMDs having a 64% higher adjusted risk compared to other mothers (p=0.002). In the final model, the condition of not having treated water at home was associated with a 55% higher adjusted risk of severe FI (p=0.011), and two factors were close to statistical significance, namely: not feeling safe at home (possibility of domestic violence) and growing edible plants at home, with adjusted measures of 48% risk and 13% protection, respectively.Conclusion: 13% of this population live with very high rates of severe FI, compatible with hunger, concomitant with CMDs. As aggravating factors of severe FI and CMDs, public social support programs are necessary to have a real positive impact on the quality of life of this population.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Nutrition Education Program for Hypertensive Patients at the Community Level / 대한지역사회영양학회지

Hypertension is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease which is considered the leading cause of death in Korea. Since nonpharmarologic dietary intervention is recommended as the first step in the management of hypertension, evaluation of intervention programs is needed to formulate strategies for improving patients' dietary adherence. This study was designed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of a hypertension nutrition education program (HNEP) at a public health center, by assessing changes in nutrition knowledge, food attitude, self-efficacy, dietary behavior, and nutrient intake after program completion. An HNEP was conducted in Suwon city for 5 months in 1999 by a public health center. The program provided 3 sessions of group education with individual nutrition counseling. Thirty-five patients participated fully in the program out of 62 enrollees. Data about nutrition knowledge, food attitude, self-efficacy, dietary behavior, and intake (24-hour recall) were collected before (baseline) and after the program. Post program results indicate the following : 1) nutrition knowledge and perception of importance of nutrition significantly increased, 2) food attitudes also improved, 3) the self-efficacy for maintaining a low salt diet was increased significantly, whereas self-efficacy for maintaining a low fat diet or dietary guidelines was not improved, 4) frequency of intake of processed food, animal fat, and sweets as well as frequency of dining out were significantly reduced, 5) nutrient intake was not improved after the program, 6) the most serious barrier for participating in the program and practicing diet therapy was lack of time and willingness. In conclusion, it appears that HNEP might improve food attitudes, individual perceptions and self-efficacy for desirable eating behavior, but it might not improve dietary intake. It follows then, that a long term intervention program may need to increase effectiveness of patient dietary adherence.