Health

Food insecurity linked to more mental health visits for young people in Canada

Published

1 year ago

July 24, 2023

24 Jul 2023 — Researchers are spotlighting a significant association between food insecurity and mental health issues in younger people. The study suggests that the experience of food insecurity can cause mental health issues in younger people even without nutrition deficits.

Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study reports that nearly six million Canadians, including 1.4 million young individuals under 18, grapple with inadequate food intake due to financial challenges. The researchers also noted an increase in substance abuse disorders.

“Given the diverse mental health conditions examined, it is unlikely that the mechanism of harm is lack of specific nutrients or poor diet quality,” says Dr. Lynn McIntyre, a professor of community health sciences at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

“Much more likely is that food insecurity contributes to mental distress among those living in difficult circumstances, as has been shown in studies of the relationship between severity of household food insecurity and mental health disorders among adults.”

Understanding food insecurity in Canada
The study utilized data from the Canadian Community Health Survey linked to Ontario health care data. It included data from 32,321 children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 17. Of those, 5,216 individuals (16.1%) were found to be living in households experiencing food insecurity.

The study further highlights the prevalence of food insecurity in Canada, which the authors say is a pressing and rising concern, as financial struggles hinder access to sufficient and nutritious food. Additionally, they note that such conditions have far-reaching implications for the overall well-being of children and adolescents and necessitate targeted interventions.

“Clinicians should advocate as vociferously about the need for income security for families who are food-insecure as they do for solutions to emergency departments being filled with patients who need primary health care,” says Dr. McIntyre.

“Some jurisdictions have proposed that practitioners screen patients for financial strain and take steps to ensure that those identified as such receive their financial entitlements.”

Impact on mental health
The study’s results demonstrated a substantial impact on the mental health of children and adolescents living in food-insecure homes. They exhibited a 55% higher frequency of physician visits for mental health reasons compared to their peers with consistent access to adequate food.

Within the entire sample, 9% had outpatient interactions and 0.6% had acute care interactions related to mental health or substance use disorders. Notably, children and adolescents from food-insecure households exhibited a 55% higher prevalence of outpatient interactions. Additionally, a 74% higher prevalence of acute care visits for mental or substance use disorders was observed in this vulnerable group.

“Taken together, these findings are concerning, and we need strong public policy to support families who face food insecurity,” says Dr. Salimah Shariff, senior author and a scientist at ICES Western. “As well, public mental health strategies must be improved and targeted to youth specifically to help reduce the strain on the public mental health system.”

Addressing the challenge
The authors further emphasize the limitations of the study, as the findings may not fully represent the experiences of First Nations communities and remote regions, where food insecurity is more acute.

Moreover, the data used in the study are from before recent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which they say have likely exacerbated food insecurity.

The researchers highlight the urgent need for collective efforts to combat food insecurity, with a focus on alleviating its impact on the mental health of children and adolescents to help create a healthier and more resilient younger generation.

Edited by William Bradford Nichols

To contact our editorial team please email us at
editorial@cnsmedia.com

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Health

The US is mailing Americans COVID tests again. Here’s how to get them

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order COVID-19 tests, without being charged, sent straight to their homes.

The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.

“Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19,” U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement.

U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.

Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.

Before using any existing at-home COVID-19 tests, you should check the expiration date. Many of the tests have been given an extended expiration from the date listed on the box. You can check on the Food and Drug Administration’s website to see if that’s the case for any of your remaining tests at home.

Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.

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Health

Free COVID tests are back. Here’s how to order a test to your home

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests sent straight to their homes.

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Health

Disability rights groups launching Charter challenge against MAID law

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A coalition of disability rights groups says it is launching a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying.

The group, which also includes two individual plaintiffs, argues that what’s known as track two of the MAID law has resulted in premature deaths.

Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death.

The coalition says track two of the MAID law has had a direct effect on the lives of people with disabilities and argues medically assisted death should only be available to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

The executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada – which is part of the coalition – says there has been an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports.

Krista Carr says those individuals should instead be supported in order to live better lives.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

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