THE EFFECT OF QUALITY OF LIFE ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN FOOD INSECURITY SITUATIONS

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.16891/2317-434X.v13.e3.a2025.id2676

Keywords:

Food Security; Anxiety; Pregnancy

Abstract

Mental suffering is associated with inadequate access to food, and quality of life may affect this relationship. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of quality of life on the relationship between food insecurity and anxiety among pregnant women residing in João Pessoa, Paraíba. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with a sample of 271 pregnant women recruited at Family Health Units during routine prenatal consultations. In addition to sociodemographic characteristics, family food insecurity was assessed using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, anxiety risk was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and quality of life was measured using the WHOQOL-brief instrument from the World Health Organization. The associations between the study variables were tested using the chi-square test, binary logistic regression, network analysis, and mediation analysis. Food insecurity affected 45.4% of the study participants, and 56.1% were classified as at risk of anxiety. Food insecurity increased the risk of anxiety by 2.2 times (OR: 2.22; 95% CI: 1.29 – 3.81). Network analysis showed the complex relationship between the study variables, which, when included in a multiple mediation model, identified that the social relations domain of quality of life had a mediation effect of 25.2% (β = -0.77) on the direct relationship between food insecurity and anxiety risk. The results highlighted that social support networks have the potential to reduce the negative impact of food insecurity on the anxiety risk of pregnant women.

Author Biographies

Maria Augusta Correa Barroso Magno Viana, Federal University of Paraíba, Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, João Pessoa, Brazil.

Maria Augusta Correa Barroso Magno Viana is a nutritionist with a Master's degree in Nutrition and Health from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2018). She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences at the Federal University of Paraíba. In 2024, she was a research intern at the School of Human Nutrition at McGill University. She is a member of the research group at the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security and the Health Research Laboratory at the Federal University of Paraíba. Her areas of expertise include food insecurity, Indigenous health, health across life cycles, and health program evaluation.

Hugo Ramiro Melgar-Quiñonez , McGill University, School of Human Nutrition, Quebec, Canada.

Dr Melgar-Quiñonez is the Margaret A. Gilliam Faculty Scholar in Food Security, with an appointment in the McGill School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition. With a degree in Medicine and a doctoral degree in Science s (1996) from the Friedrich Schiller University in Germany, he moved to McGill in September of 2012, after 9 years of work as a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Ohio State University (2003-2012). Previously he worked in public health nutrition and food security research at the University of California in Davis (1998-2003) and at the Mexican Institute of Public Health (1996-1998). Dr Melgar-Quiñonez has been a food security advisor on to several countries in Latin America. He has conducted food security research in 20 countries, and maintains a strong collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as a researcher in the project Voices of the Hungry which incorporates 150 countries.

Rafaela Lira Formiga Cavalcante de Lima, Federal University of Paraíba, Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, João Pessoa, Brazil.

Rafaela Lima is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), a nutritionist, and holds a Ph.D. in Decision Models and Health from the Graduate Program in Decision Models in Health at UFPB. She was a visiting researcher at the Yale School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (2023). Her work focuses on Public Health – Epidemiology and Clinical Nutrition, conducting observational studies on food security, quality of life, and dietary intake.

Nadjeanny Ingrid Galdino Gomes, Federal University of Paraíba, Graduate Program in Decision Models and Health, João Pessoa, Brazil.

Nadjeanny Gomes is a nutritionist with a Master's degree in Nutritional Sciences and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Program in Decision Models and Health at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), with a focus on Nutrition, Nutrition Epidemiology, and Statistics. She has research experience in population-based studies, clinical nutrition, and epidemiology, working in the areas of dietary intake and dietary recommendations.

Caio César Ferreira Alverga, Federal University of Paraíba, Graduate Program in Public Health, João Pessoa, Brazil.

Holds a degree in Nutrition from Maurício de Nassau College – João Pessoa (2017). Researcher at the Health Research Laboratory (LAPS) from 2018 to 2023. Master's degree in Public Health (Epidemiology) from UFPB. Specialized in Agroecology by the State University of Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS) and the Universidad de la República Uruguay (Udelar). Resident in Public Health at SES/PB. Currently specializing in Health Promotion and Social Development at ENSP. Research interests include Nutrition (Food Insecurity, Inequality Relations, and Social Contexts within the Agri-Food System), Public Health (Epidemiology, Critical Epidemiology, Community Experiences of Rural, Riverside, and Agroecological Populations, Solidarity Networks), and Agroecology (Territorialities and Food Sovereignty).

Renata Pozelli Sabio, McGill University, School of Human Nutrition, Quebec, Canada

Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Montreal and Postdoctoral Fellow in Food Security at the Institute for Global Food Security at McGill University's School of Human Nutrition. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Food Science from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a Master's degree in Management from the School of Higher Education in Advertising and Marketing (ESPM). Over her career, she has developed extensive expertise in food systems in both emerging and developed economies, focusing on the role of innovation in the transition to more equitable and sustainable food models. Member of the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security (Rede PENSSAN).

Rodrigo Pinheiro de Toledo Vianna, Federal University of Paraíba, Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, João Pessoa, Brazil.

Dr. Rodrigo Vianna is a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Federal University of Paraíba. He holds a degree in Food Engineering and a Ph.D. in Public Health – Epidemiology – from the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the School of Medical Sciences, UNICAMP. He completed postdoctoral studies in Public Health at Yale University (2012) and was a visiting professor at McGill University – Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (2024). He is a member of the Brazilian Research Network on Food Sovereignty and Security.

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Published

2025-12-06

How to Cite

Viana, M. A. C. B. M., Melgar-Quiñonez , H. R., Lima, R. L. F. C. de, Gomes, N. I. G., Alverga, C. C. F., Sabio, R. P., & Vianna, R. P. de T. (2025). THE EFFECT OF QUALITY OF LIFE ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN FOOD INSECURITY SITUATIONS. Revista Interfaces: Saúde, Humanas E Tecnologia, 13(3), 5924–5936. https://doi.org/10.16891/2317-434X.v13.e3.a2025.id2676

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2025):

Section

Artigos