Intimate partner violence and reduced dietary iron and vitamin A intake: a population analysis of nationally representative data from eight low- and middle-income countries.

Abstract

Objective: This research provides the first population-based investigation of intimate partner violence (IPV) and women's dietary intake of iron and Vitamin A-rich foods using representative data from eight low- and middle-income countries.

Design: Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated the relationship between various forms of past year IPV (physical, emotional and sexual) and consumption of Vitamin A and iron-rich foods.

Setting: We conducted secondary data analysis of cross-sectional demographic and health surveys from Cambodia (2021, n 5640), Nepal (2022, n 4179), Sierra Leone (2019, n 3812), Nigeria (2018, n 8313), Tajikistan (2017, n 4800), Cote D'Ivoire (2021, n 3656), Kenya (2022, n 10 758) and the Philippines (2022, n 12 278).

Participants: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) comprised the analytical sample.

Results: Results revealed distinct relationship patterns between various IPV forms and women's dietary consumption of micronutrient-rich foods. The most consistent relationships being that past year (i) sexual IPV (adjusted OR (aOR): 0·72, 95 % CI: 0·53, 0·98), (ii) physical IPV (aOR: 0·86, 95 % CI: 0·73, 1·01) and (iii) emotional IPV (aOR: 0·81, 95 % CI: 0·70, 0·94) significantly reduced the odds of consuming iron-rich foods in the pooled analyses. Due to between-country heterogeneity concerning the relationship between IPV and Vitamin A, pooled estimates for dietary vitamin A consumption were non-significant. However, in the Philippines, IPV was associated with reduced dietary Vitamin A intake.

Conclusions: IPV is associated with altered dietary intake patterns and between-country differences could be due to different food environments. Mechanisms explaining our findings may involve consequences of IPV that impact diet and dietary practices: depression, control of resources and physical trauma.