We examined the association between household food insecurity and early child development and whether or not maternal depression and anxiety modifies this association. The cross-sectional study included 468 mother-infant pairs recruited at primary health centers of the Federal District, Brazil. Mothers answered a questionnaire that evaluated early child development (outcome), household food insecurity (independent variable), maternal depression and trait anxiety (effect modifiers). Variables were collected with validated questionnaires for the Brazilian population. Pearson's χ2 test and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Infants who lived in a moderate or severe food insecure household had 2.52 times (95% confidence interval [CI] [1.13, 5.65]) the odds of having early child development delays compared with infants in secure households. Maternal depression and anxiety modified the strength of association between household food insecurity and early child development, which is an innovative finding. Among infants with depressed mothers, those experiencing mild (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.33, 95% CI [1.17, 9.46]) and moderate/severe household food insecurity (aOR 10.13, 95% CI [2.18, 47.10]) had higher odds of having early child development delays, compared with infants in food secure households. Among infants with both anxious and depressed mothers, these associations were even stronger for mild (aOR 4.69, 95% CI [1.41, 15.59]) and moderate/severe household food insecurity (aOR 16.07, 95% CI [2.70, 95.66]). In conclusion, household food insecurity is a risk factor for early child development delays, and this association is modified by maternal depression and anxiety. Future studies should evaluate the impact of intervention packages that address maternal depression and anxiety and household food insecurity on preventing early child development delays.

中文翻译：

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孕产妇心理健康改变了粮食不安全与儿童早期发育的关联。

我们研究了家庭粮食不安全与儿童早期发育之间的关联，以及母亲抑郁和焦虑是否会改变这种关联。这项横断面研究包括在巴西联邦区初级卫生中心招募的 468 对母婴。母亲们回答了一份评估儿童早期发育（结果）、家庭粮食不安全（自变量）、母亲抑郁和特质焦虑（效应修正）的调查问卷。通过针对巴西人口的经过验证的问卷收集变量。进行 Pearson χ2 检验和逻辑回归分析。与安全家庭中的婴儿相比，生活在中度或重度粮食不安全家庭中的婴儿出现早期儿童发育迟缓的几率是其 2.52 倍（95% 置信区间 [CI] [1.13, 5.65]）。母亲抑郁和焦虑改变了家庭粮食不安全与儿童早期发育之间的关联强度，这是一项创新发现。在母亲患有抑郁症的婴儿中，那些经历轻度（调整后比值比 [aOR] 3.33，95% CI [1.17，9.46]）和中度/重度家庭粮食不安全（aOR 10.13，95% CI [2.18，47.10]）的婴儿的几率较高与食品安全家庭中的婴儿相比，儿童早期发育迟缓。在母亲焦虑和抑郁的婴儿中，对于轻度（aOR 4.69，95% CI [1.41，15.59]）和中度/重度家庭粮食不安全（aOR 16.07，95% CI [2.70，95.66]），这些关联甚至更强。总之，家庭粮食不安全是儿童早期发育迟缓的一个危险因素，而这种关联会因母亲抑郁和焦虑而改变。未来的研究应该评估解决孕产妇抑郁和焦虑以及家庭粮食不安全问题的干预措施对预防儿童早期发育迟缓的影响。