Every 10th Canadian faced mental disorder in 2012

Nearly one in 10 Canadian experienced some sort of mental disorder last year, a government survey has revealed.

Approximately 2.8 million people, or 10.1 percent of the Canadians, aged 15 and older, reported symptoms consistent with at least one of six mental or substance use disorders in 2012, reported Xinhua citing the survey released by Statistics Canada, a federal government agency.

Measured by the first national population health survey, the six disorders were -- major depressive episode, bipolar disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, and abuse of or dependence on alcohol, cannabis or other drugs, with major depressive episode being the most common type of mood disorder.

The survey showed there were higher rates of mood disorders and of generalised anxiety disorder among females, while males had higher rates of substance use disorders.

In the meantime, more youth -- aged 15 to 24 -- met the criteria for mood disorders and substance use disorders than any other age group, while the oldest age group -- 65 and older -- had the lowest rates of all disorders.

The survey also suggested that 17 percent of Canadians aged 15 and older, approximately 4.9 million individuals, experienced a need for mental health care, mainly for counselling among information, medication, counselling and other services.

It said having a mental or substance use disorder, experiencing higher levels of distress, or having two or more chronic physical health conditions were positively associated with reporting a need for mental health care.

Most perceived barriers to receiving mental health care were related to personal circumstances, such as being too busy, although almost one in five attributed their unmet need to features of the health care system, the study found.