Food insecurity is a major social determinant of health and an assessment of how it may impact college students’ mental health is imperative, as well as differential associations by self-identified gender. A cross-sectional survey was used among college students of a mid-size minority-serving institution with a final sample size of 302 participants aged 18 years or above. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable regressions were conducted, by gender, to assess the role of food insecurity (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) six-item questionnaire), on mental health outcomes (Kessler-6 scale and self-perception). All the statistical analyses were conducted in SPSS version 24 (IBM, Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA) with an alpha less than 0.05 used to denote significance. Among those with food insecurity, the odds of reporting psychological distress (odds ratio (OR) = 3.645, p < 0.05) and an average to very poor self-perceived mental health status (OR = 2.687, p <0.05) were higher compared to their food-secure counterparts, with the results consistent in a gender-specific analysis as well. Compared to men, however, women had higher odds of psychological distress (OR = 2.280, p < 0.05), as well as reporting average to very poor self-perceived mental health statuses (OR = 2.700, p < 0.05). Among women, any alcohol use in the past 12 months (OR = 2.505, p < 0.05) and a low self-perceived physical health status (OR = 3.601, p < 0.05) were associated with an average to very poor self-perceived mental health status. Among men, a low perceived physical health status was associated with higher odds of psychological distress (OR = 3.477, p < 0.05). The results of our study highlight that food insecurity should be considered a social determinant of mental health wellbeing. In addition, gender-specific trends in mental health highlight the need for targeted interventions for prevention and treatment.

Food insecurity has been associated with negative health outcomes, but the relationship between psychological distress and food insecurity among ethnic minorities has not been extensively examined in the literature. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether low food security and very low food security were significantly associated with past month serious psychological distress (SPD) among Hispanic adults living in poverty. We studied 10,966 Hispanic respondents to the California Health Interview Survey for 2007, 2009, and 2011-2012 whose income was below 200% of the federal poverty level. The relationship between food insecurity and SPD was evaluated by using survey-weighted univariate and logistic regression analyses. Nearly 30% of the study population had low food security and 13% had very low food security. Low food security and very low food security were associated with 1.99 and 4.43 odds of past month SPD, respectively, and perceived low neighborhood safety was related to 1.47 odds of past month SPD. We found that food insecurity was prevalent among Hispanic people living in poverty and was significantly associated with past month SPD. These results demonstrate the need for further targeted public health efforts, such as community gardens led by promotores, faith-based initiatives, and initiatives to reduce barriers to participation in food-assistance programs.

Objective: Food insecurity remains a major public health issue in the United States, though lack of research among Asian Americans continue to underreport the issue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and burden of food insecurity among disaggregated Asian American populations. Methods: The California Health Interview Survey, the largest state health survey, was used to assess the prevalence of food insecurity among Asian American subgroups with primary exposure variable of interest being acculturation. Survey-weighted descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable robust Poisson regression analyses, were conducted and alpha less than 0.05 was used to denote significance. Results: The highest prevalence of food insecurity was found among Vietnamese (16.42%) and the lowest prevalence was among Japanese (2.28%). A significant relationship was noted between prevalence of food insecurity and low acculturation for Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese subgroups. Language spoken at home was significant associated with food insecurity. For example, among Chinese, being food insecure was associated with being bilingual (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.51) or speaking a non-English language at home (PR = 7.24), while among South Asians, it was associated with speaking a non-English language at home was also related to higher prevalence (PR = 3.62), as compared to English speakers only. Likewise, being foreign-born also related to being food insecure among Chinese (PR = 2.31), Filipino (PR = 1.75), South Asian (PR = 3.35), Japanese (PR = 2.11), and Vietnamese (PR = 3.70) subgroups, when compared to their US-born counterparts. Conclusion: There is an imperative need to address food insecurity burden among Asian Americans, especially those who have low acculturation.

Purpose: We addressed prevalence and factors associated with mental health outcomes (suicidal behavior and psychological distress) among Asian Americans (AA), who identify as transgender, a key group among sexual and gender minorities that is overlooked and understudied. Methods: We used data from 2015 United States Transgender Survey during 2019–2020 with our population as census defined AA. Outcomes included suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, and serious psychological distress (SPD). Independent variables included any abuse, partner abuse, bathroom-related abuse, and additional covariates. Adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (aOR; 95% CI) for each outcome are adjusted for age, marital status, citizenship status, education level, employment status, as well as poverty status. Results: Nearly 67% reported experiencing any abuse, 52% reported abuse from romantic/sexual partner(s), while 29% reported harassment/abuse when trying to use bathrooms. Moreover, 82% reported suicidal thoughts, 40% reported suicidal attempts, and 39% had SPD. Results demonstrated that any abuse/violence had higher odds of suicidal thoughts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.67, 95% confidence interval (CI):[1.98–3.58], suicidal attempts (aOR = 2.83, 95% CI:[2.18–3.68]), and SPD (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI:[1.20, 2.04]). Abuse from romantic/sexual partners had higher odds of suicidal thoughts (aOR = 2.47, 95% CI:[1.76–3.47]), suicidal attempts (aOR = 2.17, 95% CI:[1.68–2.80]), and SPD (aOR = 2.72, 95% CI:[2.03–3.63]). Experience of harassment/abuse during bathroom use had increased odds of suicidal attempts (aOR = 1.81, 95% CI:[1.41–2.31]). Conclusion: Exposure to violence is common among AA transgender individuals and related to negative mental health outcomes. Initiatives to reduce exposure to abuse and providing resources for trauma-informed care are imperative to improve health outcomes.