Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Food Security
2.2.2. Depression
2.2.3. Alcohol Use and Body Composition
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Participant Characteristics
3.2. Food Security
3.3. Depression
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | All Subjects (n = 131) | Food Secure (n = 81) | Food Insecure (n = 50) | p-Value 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 19.77 ± 1.68 | 19.68 ± 1.86 | 19.92 ± 1.34 | 0.426 |
Sex, n (%) | 0.765 | |||
Male | 36 (27.5%) | 23 (28.4%) | 13 (26.0%) | |
Female | 95 (72.5%) | 58 (71.6%) | 37 (74.0%) | |
Race/ethnicity, n (%) | 0.024 | |||
Caucasian | 93 (71.0%) | 63 (77.8%) | 30 (60.0%) | |
African American | 24 (18.3%) | 9 (11.1%) | 15 (30.0%) | |
Other | 14 (10.7%) | 9 (11.1%) | 5 (10.0%) | |
Year, n (%) | 0.534 | |||
Freshman | 44 (33.6%) | 31 (38.3%) | 13 (26.0%) | |
Sophomore | 38 (29.0%) | 24 (29.6%) | 14 (28.0%) | |
Junior | 29 (22.1%) | 16 (19.8%) | 13 (26.0%) | |
Senior | 18 (13.7%) | 19 (23.5%) | 9 (18.0%) | |
Graduate Student | 2 (1.5%) | 1 (1.2%) | 1 (2.0%) | |
Meal plan 2, n (%) | 0.393 | |||
Yes | 82 (62.6%) | 53 (65.4%) | 29 (58.0%) | |
No | 49 (37.4%) | 28 (34.6%) | 21 (42.0%) | |
BMI, n (%) | 0.088 | |||
Underweight | 9 (6.9%) | 8 (9.9%) | 1 (2.0%) | |
Normal weight | 78 (59.5%) | 43 (53.1%) | 35 (70.0%) | |
Overweight | 31 (23.7%) | 23 (28.4%) | 8 (16.0%) | |
Obese | 13 (9.9%) | 7 (8.6%) | 6 (12.0%) | |
Body Fat Percentage | ||||
Males | 19.10 ± 9.11 | 19.61 ± 9.21 | 18.20 ± 9.23 | 0.661 |
Females | 27.14 ± 6.90 | 27.26 ± 6.82 | 26.95 ± 7.13 | 0.831 |
AUDIT score | 4.04 ± 4.02 | 3.75 ± 3.18 | 4.50 ± 5.11 | 0.304 |
PHQ-9 score | 5.85 ± 4.93 | 4.68 ± 4.09 | 7.74 ± 5.91 | 0.001 |
Variable | Food Secure n = 81 | Food Insecure n = 50 | p-Value 1 |
---|---|---|---|
Depression Scoring, n (%) | 0.004 | ||
Minimal depression (0–4) | 48 (59.3%) | 15 (30.0%) | |
Mild depression (5–9) | 23 (28.4%) | 20 (40.0%) | |
Moderate depression (10–14) | 8 (9.9%) | 8 (16.0%) | |
Moderately severe depression (15–19) | 1 (1.2%) | 5 (10.0%) | |
Severe Depression (20–27) | 1 (1.2%) | 2 (4.0%) | |
Scoring per question, mean ± SD | |||
Little interest or pleasure in doing things | 1.48 ± 0.67 | 1.70 ± 0.81 | 0.098 |
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless | 1.36 ± 0.58 | 1.86 ± 0.99 | 0.002 |
Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much | 1.89 ± 0.91 | 2.34 ± 1.12 | 0.018 |
Feeling tired or having little energy | 2.21 ± 0.90 | 2.54 ± 0.93 | 0.047 |
Poor appetite or overeating | 1.77 ± 0.94 | 2.22 ± 1.18 | 0.024 |
Feeling bad about yourself—or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down | 1.36 ± 0.62 | 1.86 ± 1.03 | 0.003 |
Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television | 1.40 ± 0.68 | 1.64 ± 0.88 | 0.095 |
Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed. Or the opposite—being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual | 1.19 ± 0.53 | 1.42 ± 0.79 | 0.065 |
Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself | 1.04 ± 0.25 | 1.16 ± 0.47 | 0.091 |
If you checked off any problems, how difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people? | 1.37 ± 0.56 | 1.64 ± 0.88 | 0.053 |
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Reeder, N.; Tapanee, P.; Persell, A.; Tolar-Peterson, T. Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218268
Reeder N, Tapanee P, Persell A, Tolar-Peterson T. Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(21):8268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218268
Chicago/Turabian StyleReeder, Nicole, Pradtana Tapanee, Anna Persell, and Terezie Tolar-Peterson. 2020. "Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 21: 8268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218268
APA StyleReeder, N., Tapanee, P., Persell, A., & Tolar-Peterson, T. (2020). Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218268