{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T04:47:36Z","timestamp":1785905256096,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003593","name":"Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["402562\/2023-2"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["402562\/2023-2"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003593","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["402562\/2023-2"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["402562\/2023-2"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03swz6y49","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023.14666.TENURE.021\/CP00017\/CT00018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023.14666.TENURE.021\/CP00017\/CT00018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2023.14666.TENURE.021\/CP00017\/CT00018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023.14666.TENURE.021\/CP00017\/CT00018"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00snfqn58","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Population aging is reshaping public health priorities across Latin America, yet most evidence on late-life psychological distress comes from high-income societies. Brazil\u2019s Northeast combines rapid aging with persistent structural deprivation. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychological distress among older adults in this region and to examine its association with food insecurity, sociodemographic position, and health-related behaviors. A convenience sample of 355 adults aged 60 to 94 years was recruited in Para\u00edba, Piau\u00ed, and Bahia. Participants completed a sociodemographic and health questionnaire, the short-form Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Distress exceeded the validated screening cutoff in 64.5% of the sample, and 40.8% reported food insecurity. Older adults with food insecurity scored higher on the K10 than their food-secure peers (p = 0.001, d = \u22120.847), an association that persisted under multivariable adjustment. Lower income, lower schooling, and medication use were also associated with greater distress, and physical activity and life satisfaction with less. Because the design was cross-sectional and the sample non-probabilistic, these associations describe co-occurrence rather than chronicity or causal direction. Even so, the findings support addressing food security alongside mental health care in this population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16081295","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T13:53:31Z","timestamp":1785333211000},"page":"1295","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychological Distress and Related Variables in Older Adults from Northeast Brazil"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3344-3791","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Josev\u00e2nia da","family":"Silva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, State University of Para\u00edba, Campina Grande 58429-500, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0838-3590","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Barbara Tejo Bezerra Ara\u00fajo de","family":"Souza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Federal University of Para\u00edba, Jo\u00e3o Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5398-9578","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karla Santos","family":"Mateus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, State University of Para\u00edba, Campina Grande 58429-500, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3864-3872","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emerson","family":"Do B\u00fa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6839-4606","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deusivania Vieira da Silva","family":"Falc\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola de Artes, Ci\u00eancias e Humanidades, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo 03828-000, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1037\/ort0000673","article-title":"Inequality in psychological distress among young adults: An integrative model of economic, social, and environmental determinants","volume":"93","author":"Achdut","year":"2023","journal-title":"American Journal of Orthopsychiatry"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e229558","DOI":"10.1590\/1807-0310\/2021v33229558","article-title":"Concep\u00e7\u00f5es e itiner\u00e1rios terap\u00eauticos de pessoas em sofrimento ps\u00edquico em contextos quilombolas [Conceptions and therapeutic itineraries of people in psychological distress in quilombola contexts]","volume":"33","author":"Aciole","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psicologia & Sociedade"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"248","article-title":"A systematic review of the impact of physical activity on elderly mental health","volume":"14","author":"Ahmad","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Psychiatric Nursing\/Psikiyatri Hemsireleri Dernegi"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1017\/S1368980022002415","article-title":"Senior food insecurity in the USA: A systematic literature review","volume":"26","author":"Assoumou","year":"2023","journal-title":"Public Health Nutrition"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Brasil (2026, July 24). 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