Food Insecurity, Poor Diet Quality, and Suboptimal Intakes of Folate and Iron Are Independently Associated with Perceived Mental Health in Canadian Adults.
BACKGROUND
To address nutrition-related population mental health data gaps, we examined relationships among food insecurity, diet quality, and perceived mental health.


METHODS
Stratified and logistic regression analyses of respondents aged 19-70 years from the Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2 were conducted (n= 15,546). Measures included the Household Food Security Survey Module, diet quality (i.e., comparisons to theDietary Reference Intakes, Healthy Eating Index), perceived mental health (poor versus good), sociodemographics, and smoking.


RESULTS
In this sample, 6.9% were food insecure and 4.5% reported poor mental health. Stratified analysis of food security and mental health status by age/gender found associations for poor diet quality, protein, fat, fibre, and several micronutrients (p-values < 0.05); those who were food insecure tended to have higher suboptimal intakes (p-values < 0.05). After adjustment for covariates, associations in relation to mental health emerged for food insecurity (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.45-1.71), poor diet quality (1.61, 95% CI 1.34-1.81), and suboptimal intakes of folate (OR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.17-1.90) and iron (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.23-1.88).


CONCLUSIONS
Population approaches that improve food security and intakes of high quality diets may protect people from poor mental health.
School of Nursing, University of British Columbia and Health Science Program, Department of Biology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC V3W 2M8, Canada. Karen.davison@kpu.ca.
Karen M
KM
Davison
Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Springfield and Department of Computer Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. lvdp00@gmail.com.
Lovedeep
L
Gondara
Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. kaplan@ucalgary.ca.
Bonnie J
BJ
Kaplan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D063427:Food Quality; D005523:Food Supply; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D004041:Dietary Fats; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D018977:Micronutrients; D005492:Folic Acid; D007501:Iron
diet quality; food insecurity; mental health; nutrient intakes