Some statistics

Around 20% of the population will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime, and the remaining 80% will be affected by the mental illness of a family member, friend or colleague. (source: (Health Canada, A Report on Mental Illnesses in Canada, May 2006.) In fact, epidemiological information reveals that every year, almost 3% of Canadians will experience a serious mental illness and 17% will suffer from a less serious to moderate illness. (source: Out of the Shadows at Last, final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, Government of Canada, May 2006.)

These statistics are not very pleasant, and they don’t even take into account the fact that even more people are affected by temporary emotional problems that cause distress. For example, think of the people who suffer from anxiety that prevents them from functioning properly. Because we are biological and social beings, occasional feelings of emotional distress are natural and require that we be able to turn to someone for help. Nobody can completely avoid the occasional emotional crisis in life, any more than we can avoid the occasional cold or flu.

Because of the scope of the phenomenon, the Mental Illness Foundation has taken on the objective of preventing mental illnesses and reducing the suffering of those affected and their loved ones by mobilizing individuals and society.

Mental illness is a major public health problem, in part because of the high rate of incidence, but also because of the incredible amount of resources that are used to treat it, even though everyone agrees that it’s not enough.


A few statistics on mental health and illness

Hundreds of statistics, analyses and reports are available around the world on the incidence and prevalence of mental illness in the West.

Here is the Mental Illness Foundation’s own list, focused on the basic challenges in Montreal, Quebec, nationally and internationally.

Worldwide data:

World Health Organization (WHO), The world health report 2001 – Mental health: New Understanding, New Hope: http://www.who.int/whr/2001/en/index.html

According to the World Health Organization, between 34% and 45% of days of absenteeism in developed countries are attributed to mental health problems.


Canadian data:

Final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, Out of the Shadows at Last, Summary and recommendations:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/SOCI-E/rep-e/rep02may06-e.htm

Government of Canada, The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada 2006: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/human-humain06/index-eng.php


Quebec data:

Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Plan d’action en santé mentale 2005-2010 - La force des liens: http://msssa4.msss.gouv.qc.ca

Institut national de santé publique du Québec, L’épidémiologie du suicide au Québec : que savons-nous de la situation récente?
http://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/283-FeuilletEpidemioSuicide.pdf

Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Profil du suicide au Québec 1981-2005p : mise à jour en 2007
http://www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/sujets/prob_sante/pdf/Profil-suicide-fev07.pdf

Direction générale de la santé publique du ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Programme national de santé publique 2003-2012: http://206.167.52.1/

Montreal data:

Régie régionale de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal-Centre, Rapport annuel 2001 sur la santé de la population : Garder notre monde en santé, un nouvel éclairage sur la santé des adultes montréalais.: quelques constats:
http://www.santepub-mtl.qc.ca/Publication/rapportannuel/2001/rapport2001.html