Journal article
Food insecurity and mobility difficulty in middle-aged and older adults: The importance of bio-psychosocial factors
Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.184, 111849
09/2024
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Abstract
Objective
Food insecurity has been associated with mobility difficulty (MD) in old age. However, there is a scarcity of research on this topic from low- and middle-income countries, while the bio-psychological factors underlying this association are largely unknown. We investigated the food insecurity-MD link in Ghana and explored how sleep, anxiety, loneliness, and physical activity (PA) mediate the association.
Methods
Community-based, representative cross-sectional data from the Aging, Health, Well-being, and Health-seeking Behavior Study were analyzed (N = 1201; Mage = 66.5; women = 63%). MD was assessed with items from the SF-36 of the Medical Outcomes Study. We assessed food insecurity with items on hunger and breakfast-skipping frequency due to lack of food and resources. Adjusted OLS and mediation models via bootstrapping technique evaluated the associations.
Results
Results revealed the expected association between food insecurity and MD, such that greater food insecurity was significantly and positively associated with MD across paths (from β = 0.33 to β = 0.42, p < .001). Analyses of indirect effects showed that sleep problems (27.8%), anxiety (15.5%), loneliness (17.5%), and PA (18.0%) mediated the association between food insecurity and MD. Cross-level interactions revealed that food insecurity significantly modified the link between each mediator and MD.
Conclusions
Our data provide novel evidence that bio-psychological mechanisms may underlie the food insecurity-MD link and should, therefore, be considered relevant targets for interventions to prevent/manage MD in later life.
Details
- Title
- Food insecurity and mobility difficulty in middle-aged and older adults: The importance of bio-psychosocial factors
- Creators
- Razak M Gyasi - Southern Cross UniversityHubert Bimpeh Asiedu - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyLawrencia Pokuah Siaw - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyEmmanuel Nyaaba - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyEmmanuel Affum-Osei - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyRichard Bruce Lamptey - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyFaith Muhonja - Mount Kenya UniversityDominic Degraft Arthur - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyEdward Asamoah - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyMichael Nimoh - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologySamuel Adu-Gyamfi - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
- Publication Details
- Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.184, 111849
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc.
- Identifiers
- 991013204178102368
- Copyright
- © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
- Academic Unit
- National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article