Food insecurity, childhood illness and maternal emotional distress in Ethiopia

Objective: The relationship between food insecurity, maternal emotional distress and childhood morbidity in resource-poor settings is not well clarified. The present study aimed to assess independent associations between household food insecurity and childhood morbidity and potential modifications by maternal emotional distress. Design: A cross-sectional survey. A food security scale was used to assess household food insecurity; maternal reports were used to assess recent childhood illness; and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist was used to assess symptoms of emotional distress among mothers. Setting: The Oromia Region, Ethiopia (rural area). Subjects: A total of 936 mother-child pairs. Results: Of 936 children assessed, 22.4% had experienced diarrhoea, 20.7% had cough and 21.5% had fever in the 2 weeks preceding the interview. Household food insecurity was reported by 39% of mothers. Greater food insecurity and greater maternal emotional distress were each independently associated with higher prevalence of cough and fever. Among mothers with low emotional distress, food insecurity was associated with a 2.3 times greater odds of diarrhoea in their children. Conclusions: Household food insecurity may increase the risk of childhood illness in rural Ethiopia, and children having mothers with greater emotional distress may be at highest risk. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening policy initiatives aimed at reducing the high prevalence of food insecurity and emotional distress in Ethiopia.