IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v180y2017icp170-180.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food as a social determinant of mental health among household heads in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Atuoye, Kilian Nasung
  • Luginaah, Isaac

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, mental distress and related illnesses are becoming leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Despite the influence of food insecurity on mental health, empirical understanding of this relationship in sub-Saharan Africa, where incidence of food insecurity is relatively high, is almost non-existent. This study contributes to the literature by examining the association between food insecurity and mental health in the Upper West Region of Ghana. We used Ordinary Least Square (OLS) to analyze cross-sectional data collected on household heads (n = 1438) in 2014 using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and the DUKE Health Profile. The results show that heads of severely food insecure (β = 0.934, p ≤ 0.001) and moderately food secure households (β = 0.759, p ≤ 0.001) were more likely to report elevated mental distress compared to those from food secure households. We also found that female household heads were more likely to report elevated mental distress (β = 0.164, p ≤ 0.05) compared to their male counterparts. Our findings suggest the need to improve food security as a strategy targeted at improving overall mental health in the Ghanaian context.

Suggested Citation

  • Atuoye, Kilian Nasung & Luginaah, Isaac, 2017. "Food as a social determinant of mental health among household heads in the Upper West Region of Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 170-180.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:180:y:2017:i:c:p:170-180
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617301624
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gowda, C. & Hadley, C. & Aiello, A.E., 2012. "The association between food insecurity and inflammation in the US adult population," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(8), pages 1579-1586.
    2. Gundersen, Craig & Kreider, Brent, 2009. "Bounding the effects of food insecurity on children's health outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 971-983, September.
    3. Veenstra, Gerry & Luginaah, Isaac & Wakefield, Sarah & Birch, Stephen & Eyles, John & Elliott, Susan, 2005. "Who you know, where you live: social capital, neighbourhood and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(12), pages 2799-2818, June.
    4. Anson, Ofra & Paran, Esther & Neumann, Lily & Chernichovsky, Dov, 1993. "Gender differences in health perceptions and their predictors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 419-427, February.
    5. Frederick Armah & Justice Odoi & Genesis Yengoh & Samuel Obiri & David Yawson & Ernest Afrifa, 2011. "Food security and climate change in drought-sensitive savanna zones of Ghana," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 291-306, March.
    6. Ahnquist, Johanna & Wamala, Sarah P. & Lindstrom, Martin, 2012. "Social determinants of health – A question of social or economic capital? Interaction effects of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 930-939.
    7. Cole, Steven M. & Tembo, Gelson, 2011. "The effect of food insecurity on mental health: Panel evidence from rural Zambia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1071-1079.
    8. Luginaah, Isaac & Dakubo, Crescentia, 2003. "Consumption and impacts of local brewed alcohol (akpeteshie) in the Upper West Region of Ghana: a public health tragedy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 1747-1760, November.
    9. Yu, Ge & Sessions, John G. & Fu, Yu & Wall, Martin, 2015. "A multilevel cross-lagged structural equation analysis for reciprocal relationship between social capital and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1-8.
    10. Li, Baibing & Martin, Elaine B. & Morris, A. Julian, 2002. "On principal component analysis in L1," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 471-474, September.
    11. De Silva, Mary J. & Huttly, Sharon R. & Harpham, Trudy & Kenward, Michael G., 2007. "Social capital and mental health: A comparative analysis of four low income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 5-20, January.
    12. repec:mpr:mprres:5077 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Macintyre, Sally & Ellaway, Anne & Cummins, Steven, 2002. "Place effects on health: how can we conceptualise, operationalise and measure them?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 125-139, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Amoak & Joseph Asumah Braimah & Williams Agyemang-Duah & Nancy Osei Kye & Florence Wullo Anfaara & Yujiro Sano & Roger Antabe, 2022. "Understanding the Link between Household Food Insecurity and Self-Rated Oral Health in Ghana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Elisabetta Aurino & Sharon Wolf & Edward Tsinigo, 2020. "Household food insecurity and early childhood development: Longitudinal evidence from Ghana," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Nunbogu, Abraham Marshall & Elliott, Susan J. & Bisung, Elijah, 2023. "I feel the pains of our past water struggles anytime I turn on the tap: Diaspora perceptions and experiences of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) gendered violence in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    4. Bröer, Christian & Agyekum, Humphrey Asamoah, 2021. "Medicalization and manhood: Is an ADHD diagnosis emerging for allegedly troublesome boys in Accra, Ghana?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    5. Mohammed, Kamaldeen & Batung, Evans & Saaka, Sulemana Ansumah & Kansanga, Moses Mosonsieyiri & Luginaah, Isaac, 2023. "Determinants of mechanized technology adoption in smallholder agriculture: Implications for agricultural policy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    6. Trudell, John Paul & Burnet, Maddison L. & Ziegler, Bianca R. & Luginaah, Isaac, 2021. "The impact of food insecurity on mental health in Africa: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    7. Atuoye, Kilian Nasung & Luginaah, Isaac & Hambati, Herbert & Campbell, Gwyn, 2019. "Politics, economics, how about our health? Impacts of large-scale land acquisitions on therapeutic spaces and wellbeing in coastal Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 283-291.
    8. Peele, Morgan & Wolf, Sharon, 2020. "Predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms among teachers in Ghana: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    9. Ragetlie, R. & Hounkpatin, W.A. & Luginaah, I., 2021. "Community perceptions of gendered alcohol misuse in a food insecure context: The case of northwestern Benin," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    10. Alba Llop-Gironés & Sam Jones, 2019. "Beyond access to basic services: Perspectives on the social determinants of health in Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-40, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Roger Antabe & Kilian Nasung Atuoye & Yujiro Sano & Vincent Zubedaar Kuuire & Sylvester Zachariah Galaa & Isaac Luginaah, 2019. "Health insurance enrolment in the Upper West Region of Ghana: Does food security matter?," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 1621-1632, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Snelgrove, John W. & Pikhart, Hynek & Stafford, Mai, 2009. "A multilevel analysis of social capital and self-rated health: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 1993-2001, June.
    2. Shen, Yuying, 2014. "Community building and mental health in mid-life and older life: Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 209-216.
    3. Mohammed, Kamaldeen & Batung, Evans & Kansanga, Moses Mosonsieyiri & Luginaah, Isaac, 2024. "Alcohol misuse as a social determinant of food insecurity among smallholder farmers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    4. Chuang, Ying-Chih & Chuang, Kun-Yang, 2008. "Gender differences in relationships between social capital and individual smoking and drinking behavior in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1321-1330, October.
    5. Cahuas, Madelaine C. & Wakefield, Sarah & Peng, Yun, 2015. "Social change or business as usual at city hall? Examining an urban municipal government's response to neighbourhood-level health inequities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 366-373.
    6. Peter Congdon, 2010. "A multiple indicator, multiple cause method for representing social capital with an application to psychological distress," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Admassu N. Lamu & Jan Abel Olsen, 2018. "Yes, health is important, but as much for its importance via social life: The direct and indirect effects of health on subjective well‐being in chronically ill individuals," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 209-222, January.
    8. Vincens, Natalia & Emmelin, Maria & Stafström, Martin, 2018. "Social capital, income inequality and the social gradient in self-rated health in Latin America: A fixed effects analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 115-122.
    9. Choi, Jin Young, 2009. "Contextual effects on health care access among immigrants: Lessons from three ethnic communities in Hawaii," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1261-1271, October.
    10. Schaefer-McDaniel, Nicole & Dunn, James R. & Minian, Nadia & Katz, Danielle, 2010. "Rethinking measurement of neighborhood in the context of health research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 651-656, August.
    11. Philip Q. Yang & Shann Hwa Hwang, 2016. "Explaining Immigrant Health Service Utilization," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, May.
    12. Ragetlie, R. & Hounkpatin, W.A. & Luginaah, I., 2021. "Community perceptions of gendered alcohol misuse in a food insecure context: The case of northwestern Benin," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    13. Juan Carlos Chávez & Felipe J. Fonseca & Manuel Gómez-Zaldívar, 2017. "Resoluciones de disputas comerciales y desempeño económico regional en México. (Commercial Disputes Resolution and Regional Economic Performance in Mexico)," Ensayos Revista de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Economia, vol. 0(1), pages 79-93, May.
    14. Chen, Ray-Bing & Chen, Ying & Härdle, Wolfgang K., 2014. "TVICA—Time varying independent component analysis and its application to financial data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 95-109.
    15. Yan Yu Chen & Chun-Cheih Chao & Fu-Chen Liu & Po-Chen Hsu & Hsueh-Fen Chen & Shih-Chi Peng & Yung-Jen Chuang & Chung-Yu Lan & Wen-Ping Hsieh & David Shan Hill Wong, 2013. "Dynamic Transcript Profiling of Candida albicans Infection in Zebrafish: A Pathogen-Host Interaction Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-16, September.
    16. Plat, Richard, 2009. "Stochastic portfolio specific mortality and the quantification of mortality basis risk," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 123-132, August.
    17. Kondylis, Athanassios & Whittaker, Joe, 2008. "Spectral preconditioning of Krylov spaces: Combining PLS and PC regression," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 2588-2603, January.
    18. David Consolazio & Annemarie Koster & Simone Sarti & Miranda T Schram & Coen D A Stehouwer & Erik J Timmermans & Anke Wesselius & Hans Bosma, 2020. "Neighbourhood property value and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Maastricht study: A multilevel study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, June.
    19. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2019. "Governance, capital flight and industrialisation in Africa," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-22, December.
    20. Gupta, Rishabh & Mishra, Ashok, 2019. "Climate change induced impact and uncertainty of rice yield of agro-ecological zones of India," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1-11.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:180:y:2017:i:c:p:170-180. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.