Mental Health and Addiction Statistics

Prevalence and Incidence

• 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. The remaining 4 will have a friend, family member or colleague who will.ⁱ
• Mental illness affects thinking, mood or behaviour and can be associated with distress and/or impairment of functioning, with symptoms that vary from mild to severe.
• About 20% of people with a mental disorder have a co-occurring substance use problem.ⁱⁱ
• Schizophrenia affects 1%, major depression impacts 8% and anxiety disorder 12% of people.ⁱⁱⁱ
• 1 in 10 Canadians 15 years of age and over report symptoms consistent with alcohol or illicit drug dependence.^iv
• 3.8% of adults in Ontario are classified as having moderate or severe gambling problems.^v

Who is Affected

• 70% of mental health problems and illnesses have their onset during childhood or adolescence.^vi
• Young people age 15-24 are more likely to report mental illness and/or substance use disorders than other age groups.^vii
• Overall, men were 2.6 times more likely than women to meet the criteria for substance dependence.^viii 25% of male drinkers are high-risk drinkers compared to 9% of female drinkers.^ix
• Women were 1.5 times more likely to meet the criteria for a mood or anxiety disorder than men.^x
• Canadians in the lowest income group were 3-4 times more likely than those in the highest income group to report fair to poor mental health.^xi

Access

• Only one-third of those who need mental health services in Canada actually receive them.^xii
• 71% of family physicians ranked access to psychiatrists in Ontario as fair to poor.^xiii
• While mental illnesses constitute more than 15% of the burden of disease in Canada, these illnesses receive only 5.5% of health care dollars.^xiv

Stigma

• Just 50% of Canadians would tell friends or coworkers that they have a family member with a mental illness, compared to 72% who would discuss diagnoses of cancer or 68% diabetes in the family.^xv
• Only 12% of Canadians said they would hire a lawyer who has a mental illness, and only 49% said they would socialize with a friend who had a serious mental illness.^xvi
• 46% of Canadians think people use the term mental illness as an excuse for bad behaviour; and 27% are fearful of being around people who suffer from serious mental illness.^xvii

Cost to Society of Mental Illness and Addictions

• In Canada mental illness is the second leading cause of human disability and premature death.^xviii
• Every day, 500,000 Canadians are absent from work due to psychiatric problems.
  Mental Health is the number one cause of disability in Canada, accounting for nearly 30% of disability claims and 70% of the total costs.^xix
• Tobacco is responsible for one-quarter of cancer deaths in Ontario.^xx
• $51 billion is the estimated cost of mental illness to the Canadian economy in terms of health care and lost productivity.^xxi
• $34 billion is the cost of mental illness and addictions to the Ontario economy.^xxii
• According to the World Health Organization, depression will be the single biggest medical burden on health by 2020.

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ⁱHealth Canada. A Report on Mental Illness in Canada, 2002.
ⁱⁱPrevalence of Co-occurring Substance Use and Other Mental Disorders in the Canadian Population, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, December 2008
ⁱⁱⁱHealth Canada: A Report on Mental Illness in Canada, 2002
^ivStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2003
^vCCSA and Responsible Gambling Council, 2001
^viGovernment of Canada, The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada, 2006
^viiStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2003
^viiiStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2002
^ixCCSA Canadian Addictions Survey, November 2004
^xStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2002
^xiStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2002
^xiiStatistics Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, 2003
^xiiiNational Physician Survey, 2007
^xivInstitute of Health Economics, How Much Should We Spend on Mental Health?, September 2008
^xvCanadian Medical Association, 8th Annual National Report Card on Health Care, August 2008
^xviCanadian Medical Association, 8th Annual National Report Card on Health Care, August 2008
^xviiCanadian Medical Association, 8th Annual National Report Card on Health Care, August 2008
^xviiiInstitute of Health Economics, How Much Should We Spend on Mental Health?, September 2008
^xixInsurance Journal 2003 as cited by the Government of Canada in The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada, 2006, pg. 41.
^xxCancer Care Ontario Tobacco Facts
^xxiDewa, CS et al, A new population-based measure of the burden of mental illness in Canada, Chronic Diseases in Canada, 2008
^xxiiThe Economic Costs of Mental Disorders, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drug Abuse in Ontario, 2000

 

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