Impacts of food & energy insecurity during COVID-19 lockdown on mental & physical health in Cameroon

Abstract Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments tried to limit the spread of the virus by implementing strict lockdowns. These lockdowns had the downstream effect of reducing food and energy security in sub-Saharan Africa as many individuals working in the informal sector faced increased challenges earning income and obtaining food. The effect of these abrupt changes on physical and mental health has not been quantified in sub-Saharan African context. We therefore investigated these impacts in peri-urban Cameroon. Methods As part of CLEAN(Air)-Africa Global Health Research Group, we gathered sociodemographic and physical and mental health related quality of life (HRQoL) information (using the Short Form (SF)-36) from 99 residents of Mbalmayo, Cameroon before and during lockdown. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine the effect of changes in participant reported reduced cooking frequency and participant reported shift from liquefied petroleum gas for cooking to polluting cooking fuel (e.g. wood) on HRQoL. Physical and mental HRQoL were measured using the physical component summary score (PCS) and mental component summary score (MCS) of the SF-36, respectively. Results In the fully adjusted models, those that reported cooking less frequently during lockdown had significantly lower MCS scores (-8.23, 95%CI -14.5 to -2.14, p = 0.008) and no significant change on PCS scores (-5.31, 95%CI -11.32 to 0.69, p = 0.083). Individuals that reported shifting from LPG to polluting cooking fuels had significantly higher PCS scores (7.88, 95%CI 0.95 to 14.81, p = 0.026) and no significant change in MCS scores (-2.66, 95%CI -9.79 to 4.47, p = 0.464) Conclusions Mental HRQoL in peri-urban Cameroon was reduced due to lower food security following COVID-19 lockdown. Mental health may possibly be improved during future periods of financial strain using targeted interventions to improve food security. Key messages • Lockdown related food insecurity worsened mental health related quality of life in peri-urban Cameroon. Interventions to improve food security may mitigate mental health impacts of future lockdowns. • Shifting to polluting fuel use in response to lockdown related energy insecurity in peri-urban Cameroon improved physical health related quality of life.