Predictors of psychological distress in low-income mothers over the first postpartum year.

This was an observational secondary analysis, so it cannot show that violence, food insecurity, poverty, nativity, or allostatic load caused distress. Interpersonal violence was measured only once, although multiple measurements can detect more violence. Food security was measured with simple yes or no questions about hunger and food stamp use, so it did not capture the full experience of food insecurity. The allostatic load scores averaged 2.62 and 2.58 out of 10, and the method for scoring biomarkers varies across studies. The analysed samples were 842, 845, and 846 women from an original cohort of 2,510, and they differed from the full cohort in ethnicity, education, marital status, nativity, and food stamp use. Stress, depression, and anxiety were analysed separately, even though these symptoms often occur together. The cohort was not an epidemiologically representative sample of the US population.

The authors declared no conflict of interest. The paper reports NIH extramural research support and use of data from the National Institute of Child and Human Development CCHN cohort.

Do not conclude that interpersonal violence, food insecurity, or poverty caused psychological distress. This was an observational analysis of existing data, violence was measured only once, and food security was assessed with simple yes or no questions.