Relationship between food insecurity and maternal depression

Food insecurity affected 3.7 million households with children in the United States in 2014. Maternal depression impacts 20% of mothers in the first three months of motherhood. These two negative life experiences lead to poor physical and mental health for all members of the household, especially children. Understanding not only if a relationship exists between food insecurity and depression, but also the direction of the relationship, is key for the development for necessary interventions. A review was conducted to examine the current literature about the relationship between maternal depression and food insecurity. Thirteen papers met inclusion criteria, seven cross-sectional, three longitudinal studies, and three prospective studies. \ud The current literature concurs that there is a positive association between maternal depression and food insecurity. When depression was the dependent variable, studies identified significant odds ratios ranged from 1.5 to 2.69. When food insecurity was the dependent variable, studies identified significant odds ratio ranged from 1.87 and 2.6. Three papers, two of which were longitudinal in designed, identified the existence of a bi-directional relationship between food insecurity and depression. \ud Public Health Relevance: Based on the current literature, interventions are needed to address both food insecurity and depression simultaneously. More research is necessary to fully understand the degree of the relationship between food insecurity and depression and the effectiveness of possible interventions and policy changes. \u