Relação entre insegurança alimentar, ansiedade e qualidade de vida em mulheres de baixa renda de Belém, Pará.

Abstract

Food insecurity ranges from concern about the uncertainty of regularly having food to experiencing hunger, which can affect physical and mental health. This study verified the relationship between food insecurity, anxiety, and quality of life in low-income women in the city of Belém, Pará. The population consisted of women aged 18 years or older, registered in the Single Registry of the Ministry of Citizenship and assisted by one of the 12 Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS) in Belém-PA. A questionnaire was used with questions about sociodemographic factors, food consumption and nutritional status; Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-breef questionnaire. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for all study variables and then the frequency of food insecurity was estimated according to all variables. Afterwards, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated, according to food insecurity, by Poisson log-linear regression, considering 95% CI and p < 0.05. Of the 661 women, 95.8% were classified as food insecure; 65.8% and 59.3% of women with significant intensity of trait and state anxiety, respectively, and 55.1% and 56.4% of women were above the physical domain and the psychological domain, respectively, in relation to the perception quality of life of the women interviewed. No associations were found between food insecurity, anxiety and quality of life. This study contributed to the knowledge of the profile of these women and to the reflection on the fight against food insecurity, its determinants and consequences, however, new studies are needed to verify the association between food insecurity, anxiety and quality of life in low-income women.