Maternal common mental disorders and malnutrition in children: a case-control study

Abstract

Background: Despite improvements in the nutritional status of Brazilian children, child malnutrition remains a public health issue. The objective of the present study was to analyse the effect of maternal common mental disorders (MCMD) on child malnutrition in a large Brazilian urban centre with low rates of child malnutrition. Furthermore, we explored the hypothesis that a reduction in the quality of maternal caregiving mediates the relationship between maternal mental health problems and child nutrition. Methods: A case–control study including 294 children aged between 0 and 5 years, with 147 cases and 147 age- and sex-matched controls, was conducted in the city of Salvador, northeastern Brazil. Mothers completed the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), the family’s socio-economic status was evaluated and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory was applied. Children were diagnosed as moderately or severely malnourished when the weight-for-height z-score was below –2 SD. Conditional logistic regression was used in the analysis, and the final model was created using the backward technique. Results: MCMD doubled the risk of moderate or severe malnutrition in children (OR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.10–3.78). Maternal caregiving can be an important factor mediating the relationship between maternal mental health and child malnutrition. Conclusion: MCMD must be taken into account in programmes for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition, especially in areas of low malnutrition prevalence.