Cross-sectional but not Longitudinal Measures of Food Insecurity are Associated with the Rate of Weight Gain during Pregnancy in Northern Uganda

Food insecurity (FI) during pregnancy may lead to adverse health outcomes for affected women. However, little is known on whether such effects are due to short-term within person changes (longitudinal effects) in FI or long-term between person differences (cross-sectional effects) in this exposure. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether differences in cross-sectional measures of FI between women (defined as the mean prenatal IFIAS score) and/or longitudinal changes in FI within women (i.e. the observed IFIAS score at each visit minus the mean (cross-sectional) IFIAS score) were associated with the rate of weight gain during pregnancy. We enrolled 403 (33.3% HIV-infected, all on antiretroviral treatment) pregnant women at the antenatal clinic of Gulu Hospital in northern Uganda. FI was assessed at recruitment and then at each follow-up visit using the Individually-focused FI Access Scale (IFIAS; Natamba et al 2014). Women’s height and weight was measured at enrollment (mean (±SD) gestationa...