Does health status mediate the association between food security and life satisfaction in Ireland: a cross-sectional observational study using 2018 Gallup World Poll survey data

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence has suggested that Irish people are more satisfied with their lives compared with people from other EU countries. Individual, environment, political, and economic factors are among the determinants of life satisfaction. Although food security affects different features of people's lives, little is known about how it affects life satisfaction in Ireland. This study aimed to explore the association between food security and life satisfaction among Irish people in 2018, and to identify whether personal health mediates this association. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we obtained data for Ireland from the 2018 Gallup World Poll, a survey of a representative sample of (1000) citizens aged 15 years or older across 160 countries. We used the Food Insecurity Experience Scale score (0 [food security] to 8) as the independent variable, and the Personal Health Index (0 to 100) as the mediator variable. Life satisfaction was the dependent variable (ranging from 0 [low] to 20 [high]), which we calculated by summing the scores of the following two self-reported questions: “life in 5 years?” and “life today?”. We did a mediation analysis using the PROCESS program developed by Andrew Hayes. Sociodemographic factors were also measured as control variables. No specific ethics approval or patient consent is required for analyses of Gallup World Poll data. FindingsWe obtained data from 1000 individuals, of whom 847 (85%) were food secure. Personal Health Index scores mediated the association between food security and life satisfaction. Food insecurity was directly associated with life satisfaction (–0·264, 95% CI –0·322 to –0·206), and personal health was indirectly associated with life satisfaction (0·026, 0·022 to 0·030). Results from covariates showed that only education (0·447, 0·287 to 0·606) and household income (0·339, 0·251 to 0·426) were significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction. InterpretationWe found that food security has a direct association with life satisfaction, and that personal health mediates this association, which might be helpful for public health policy makers. However, the strength of association between food insecurity and life satisfaction was stronger than for personal health and life satisfaction. Further, education and household income were strongly associated with life satisfaction. FundingNone.