• Adriana Toledo de Paffer, Haroldo da Silva Ferreira, Cabral JúniorCyro RegoCR, and MirandaClaudio Torres deCT.
• Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2012 Jan 1; 130 (2): 849184-91.

Context And ObjectiveCompromised maternal mental health (MMH) is considered to be a risk factor for child malnutrition in low income areas. Psychosocial variables associated with MMH are potentially different between urban and rural environments. The aim here was to investigate whether associations existed between MMH and selected sociodemographic risk factors and whether specific to urban or rural settings.Design And SettingCross-sectional study on a representative population sample of mothers from the semiarid region of Alagoas.MethodsMultistage sampling was used. The subjects were mothers of children aged up to 60 months. MMH was evaluated through the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20. Mothers' nutritional status was assessed using the body mass index and waist circumference. Univariate analysis used odds ratios (OR) and chi-square. Logistic regression was performed separately for urban and rural subsamples using MMH as the dependent variable.ResultsThe sample comprised 288 mothers. The prevalences of common mental disorders (CMD) in rural and urban areas were 56.2% and 43.8%, respectively (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 0.64-1.63). In univariate analysis and logistic regression, the variable of education remained associated with MMH (OR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.03-4.6) in urban areas. In rural areas, the variable of lack of partner remained associated (OR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.01-6.7).ConclusionsThe prevalence of CMD is high among mothers of children aged up to two years in the semiarid region of Alagoas. This seems to be associated with lower educational level in urban settings and lack of partner in rural settings.

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