Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/91201926368
Dahlia Cedarbaum
Hello! I am a junior at Wesleyan University, majoring in Biology and Science, Technology and Society. On campus, I am a member of the Student Health Advisory Committee, the club tennis team, and the Cardinal Sinners (an acapella group). I am super interested in public health and nutrition, so I decided to use this project as an opportunity to explore the association between food insecurity and mental distress at the county level. I am originally from Chevy Chase, MD, and I love to cook, play tennis, and craft with friends in my free time.
Abstract: Food insecurity affects over 47 million Americans and has been linked to poor mental health outcomes, yet little is known about these patterns at the county level. This study examined whether county-level food insecurity predicts frequent mental distress, and whether it is a stronger predictor than poverty. Data from 2,373 counties were drawn from the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), using model-based estimates of food insecurity and frequent mental distress at the county level. Food insecurity was significantly and positively associated with mental distress across counties; however, poverty level was a slightly stronger predictor of frequent mental distress than food insecurity. These findings suggest that while food insecurity is meaningfully related to mental distress at the county level, poverty may play a more dominant role, highlighting the need for public health strategies that address both economic hardship and food access to improve mental health outcomes.
Data-Analysis-Final-Poster-3