Catheryn A. Orihuela

Food insecurity continues to be a critical social determinant of health in the United States. Existing research on food insecurity within clinical populations has focused on specific health conditions. However, this approach may limit the applicability of findings to broader patient groups. In the current study, adult patients ( N = 104) identified as food insecure by a medical provider completed measures of food insecurity, mental health, and quality of life. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were also collected. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, multiple linear regression analyses determined greater food insecurity was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. There was not a significant effect of food insecurity on quality of life, BMI, systolic blood pressure, or diastolic blood pressure. Results show that adults receiving medical care may be especially vulnerable to the effects of food insecurity, where there can be detrimental effects on mental health.

This study examines cross-sectional relationships between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and sleep in early adolescents using rigorous assessments and accounting for caffeine consumption. It was hypothesized that greater SSB consumption would be associated with shorter sleep duration, greater sleepiness, lower sleep quality, and later bedtimes and waketimes on weekdays and weekends. The sample included 288 middle school students (M _age = 12.09 years; 54% female; 48% Black; 37% White; 10% Hispanic/Latino; and 5% other racial-ethnic groups) recruited from 15 public middle schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Sleep duration, as well as wake and bedtimes, were calculated from 7-day actigraphy. During the same 7 days, SSB and caffeine consumption were measured with daily assisted 24-hour food recalls. Multiple regression analyses showed that after controlling for sociodemographics, physical activity, energy intake, and caffeine consumption, greater SSB consumption was associated with shorter weekday sleep duration (β = −.19; CI = [−.28, −.05]). Furthermore, higher SSB consumption was linked to later bedtimes (β = .19; CI = [.05, .33]). Results suggest that youth who drink more SSBs have disruptions in sleep timing on weekdays and weekends that may contribute to shorter sleep duration. To improve adolescent sleep, continued efforts are needed to reduce overall SSB consumption through nutrition education in schools and communities.

Research suggests that chronic stress reduces cognitive functioning; however, studies examining this relationship for race-related stress, such as racial discrimination, are limited and primarily focus on older adults. Moreover, considering the importance of sleep when coping with stress, it is possible that sleep buffers the effect of racial discrimination on cognitive functioning. The present study examined the role of sleep duration and quality in the relationship between racial discrimination and cognitive functioning in early adolescence. This study utilized a sample of racial and ethnic minority adolescents (N = 176; M_age = 12.1 years; 55% females; 76% Black/African American, 15% Hispanic/Latino, and 8% other minority) participating in a school-based study of adolescent mental health and academic functioning. Analyses included a single multivariate regression model predicting inhibitory control and episodic memory from racial discrimination, sleep duration, sleep quality (objective and subjective), and the interactions between racial discrimination and each sleep variable. Controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and annual household income, results from the multivariate regression revealed a significant interaction between racial discrimination and sleep duration in predicting inhibitory control. Follow-up analyses showed that racial discrimination was associated with poorer inhibitory control in youth who experienced short sleep duration. Short sleep duration may increase the deleterious influence of discrimination on youth's cognitive functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: While food insecurity is often examined in the context of hunger and physical health, it also significantly affects psychological wellbeing. Given the link between stress and food insecurity, youth in food‐insecure households are at a higher risk of experiencing internalizing and externalizing problems. However, less is known about protective factors that may protect youth from the detrimental effects of food insecurity on behavior. Methods: The sample includes 288 adolescents that completed assessments of food insecurity, school connectedness, and emotional and behavioral problems. Teachers completed surveys on student attention problems. Results: After controlling for sociodemographics, multiple regressions revealed that greater food insecurity was linked with higher levels of anxiety/depression, aggression, and attention problems. School connectedness moderated the effect of food insecurity on rule‐breaking behaviors, such that food insecurity was only related to more rule‐breaking behaviors in youth reporting low school connectedness. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Interventions aimed at improving school connectedness may lessen behavioral problems, especially among students experiencing food insecurity, reducing barriers to intermediate education. Conclusions: These results suggest that food insecurity is associated with multiple psychosocial problems that may be alleviated by a greater sense of belonging at school.

Background: Childhood and adolescent obesity, which affects nearly 1 in 5 youth in the US, presents a pressing public health concern. Obesity is linked to chronic low‐grade inflammation, which exacerbates comorbidities. Noninvasive tools are needed to monitor obesity‐related inflammation and assess weight‐management interventions in children and adolescents. Objective: This study investigated the associations between Body Mass Index z‐score (BMIz) and salivary biomarkers: C‐reactive protein (CRP), cytokines interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α. Methods: A sample of 280 adolescents (Mage = 12.1 years, SD = 0.44) was followed for 2 years (3 time points) from 2019 to 2021. An autoregressive cross‐lagged path model was used to examine the prospective relationships between BMIz and salivary biomarkers. Results: Findings indicated a bidirectional relationship between BMIz and salivary CRP levels, suggesting a feed‐forward cycle in which excessive weight gain and inflammation mutually amplify each other. Salivary cytokines were not associated with BMIz. Conclusions: This study underscores the utility of salivary CRP as a noninvasive biomarker for obesity‐related inflammation. Monitoring salivary CRP levels could aid in targeting interventions to prevent obesity‐related complications early in life.

Due to a decline in diet quality during adolescence, youth are less likely to consume adequate nutrient dense foods to meet recommended requirements. Iron intake in particular is crucial for healthy physical and brain development in adolescence, but few studies have examined the role of iron intake in adolescents’ behavior problems. The current study examined the associations between iron intake and two types of behavior problems in early adolescents – aggression and rule breaking. The sample included 272 middle school students (Mage =12.08; 53% female; 47% Black, 37% White, 9% Hispanic, 6% other racial/ethnic group). Multivariate regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographic covariates revealed that higher iron intake was linked to lower aggressive behaviors (β = - .16, p < .05), but was not associated with rule breaking. These findings support the role of iron intake in healthy behavioral development in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity is characterized by limited access to adequate food due to a lack of money or resources (eg, lack of transportation to obtain food). School aged children who are experiencing food insecurity are at greater risk for poor academic outcomes, but previous studies have not examined the effects of food insecurity on specific academic outcomes over time.METHOD: This study examined food insecurity as a risk factor for subsequent academic skills, enablers, and achievement. As part of a larger longitudinal study, middle school students (N = 112; mean_age = 12.14, SD = 0.41; 50% female; 68% black/African American, 14% white, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 5% other) reported on food insecurity at baseline, while teachers reported on students' academic skills and enablers at both baseline and 12 months later at 1 year follow up. Math and English/Language Arts grades were obtained from the schools at each wave.FINDINGS: Food insecurity predicted lower academic skills over time but was unrelated to academic enablers and grades.IMPLICATIONS: Considering a whole school, whole community, whole child (WSCC) framework, this study will also discuss the important role schools and communities have in reducing food insecurity in middle school students.CONCLUSIONS: These results support negative long‐term effects of food insecurity on academic skills in early adolescents.

Community violence exposure is associated with externalizing problems in adolescents, yet little research has examined the moderating role of coping in these relationships. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (Mage = 13.36, 50%male, 95%African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study a year and a half apart. Youth reported their community violence exposure and coping styles at Wave 1, and their delinquent behavior, physical aggression, and substance use at Waves 1 and 2. Conduct problems were assessed by parent-report at Waves 1 and 2. Results showed that avoidant coping predicted less delinquency, aggression, substance use, and conduct problems over time. Further, avoidant coping attenuated the effect of community violence on delinquency. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping did not moderate community violence exposure effects. Findings suggest that among low-income, minority urban youth, avoidant coping may protect against the development of externalizing problems in the context of community violence exposure.