Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
December 2020
Food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
by Jane Y. Polsky and Heather Gilmour
Food insecurity refers to the inability to access a sufficient quantity or variety of food because of financial constraints, and is an established marker of material deprivation in Canada. Based on the most recent available national-level data, 8.8% or 1.2 million households experienced food insecurity in 2017/2018. Certain population groups are more likely to be food insecure, such as lone-parent households, individuals who rely on government assistance as their main source of income and individuals who rent their home.
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Trends in the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among working-age Canadian adults between 2000 and 2016
by Kathleen G. Dobson, Simone N. Vigod, Cameron Mustard, and Peter M. Smith
The Global Burden of Disease project reported that mental disorders have accounted for at least 14% of years of life lost due to disability since 1990. Common mental disorders—such as major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders—rank highly among the major causes of disease burden; globally, they are estimated to be associated with at least 12 billion days of lost productivity per year, costing approximately $925 billion USD. Given their high morbidity and societal cost, concerns exist that the prevalence of these common mental disorders have been increasing in developed countries over the past 30 years.
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Trends in the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among working-age Canadian adults between 2000 and 2016
- Sunderland A, Findlay LC. Perceived need for mental healthcare in Canada: Results from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health. Health Reports 2013; 24(9): 3-9.
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