Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Food Security and Depressive Symptoms Among Adult Foreign-Born Immigrants in the US: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Foreign-born immigrants are at greater risks of both food insecurity and depressive symptoms, while the association between the two has yet to be elucidated. Our sample includes 6,857 adults aged 20 years and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2016. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine whether the association between food security and depressive symptoms varies across race/ethnicity among US foreign-born immigrants. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 9.6% and 15.7% for low food security (LFS) and very low food security (VLFS). The adjust odds ratios (aORs) of depressive symptoms among Mexican American and Other Hispanic immigrants with VLFS were 2.66 (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 1.61, 4.38) and 2.05 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.86) as compared to those with full food security (FFS). Race/ethnicity may modify the association between food security and depressive symptoms among US foreign-born immigrants and a dose-response relationship was indicated among Hispanic and Other Race immigrants.