Abstract
BackgroundFood insecurity (FI) has been shown to be associated with poor health both in developing and developed countries. Little is known about the relation between FI and neurological disorder. We assessed the relation between FI and risk for neurologic symptoms in southwest Ethiopia.MethodsData about food security, gender, age, household assets, and self-reported neurologic symptoms were collected from a representative, community-based sample of adults (N = 900) in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. We calculated univariate statistics and used bivariate chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the relation between FI and risk of neurologic symptoms including seizures, extremity weakness, extremity numbness, tremors/ataxia, aphasia, carpal tunnel syndrome, vision dysfunction, and spinal pain.ResultsIn separate multivariate models by outcome and gender, adjusting for age and household socioeconomic status, severe FI was associated with higher odds of seizures, movement abnormalities, carpal tunnel, vision dysfunction, spinal pain, and comorbid disorders among women. Severe FI was associated with higher odds of seizures, extremity numbness, movement abnormalities, difficulty speaking, carpal tunnel, vision dysfunction, and comorbid disorders among men.ConclusionWe found that FI was associated with symptoms of neurologic disorder. Given the cross-sectional nature of our study, the directionality of these associations is unclear. Future research should assess causal mechanisms relating FI to neurologic symptoms in sub-Saharan Africa.
Highlights
Food insecurity (FI) has been shown to be associated with poor health both in developing and developed countries
According to the median cut-off of the asset index, 47.3% of the sample was classified as having assets below the median number reported
Severe FI was associated with higher odds of seizures, movement abnormalities, carpal tunnel, vision dysfunction, and spinal pain in both unadjusted and adjusted models
Summary
Food insecurity (FI) has been shown to be associated with poor health both in developing and developed countries. It has been estimated that 11.1% of households are food insecure, with FI higher than 35% among the poor [1]. FI and related indicators, food insufficiency and hunger, have been associated with decreased adult caloric intake [3,4,5], psychosocial dysfunction in children [6], overweight in young children [7], increased body weight in women [8,9], sociofamilial dysfunction [10], and lower self-reported physical and mental health [11,12,13,14]. Hadley and colleagues showed that FI was associated with higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress [17]
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