Interpersonal violence and dietary markers among adults: evidence from the Brazilian National Health Survey 2019

This study aimed to assess the relationship between psychological and physical interpersonal violence (IV) and healthy and unhealthy dietary markers of food consumption among Brazilian adults. The study utilized data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey, which included a representative sample of 88,531 residents 18 years or older. The exposures encompassed psychological and physical IV within the 12 months preceding the interview. The outcomes focused on regular consumption (≥ 5 times/week) of healthy dietary markers and unhealthy dietary markers. Multinomial logistic regression models were employed to analyze the interest relationship, considering the complex sample design. The findings revealed that male victims of psychological and physical IV had lower consumption of healthy dietary markers. Additionally, both men and women victims of psychological violence had a higher consumption of unhealthy foods. Women who reported physical violence and men who had physical violence inflicted by others were also more likely to report regular consumption of unhealthy foods. The results underscore the potential role of IV victimization as a risk factor for inadequate consumption. Further research is needed to ascertain whether similar associations occur in other populations and contexts.