В Канаде за десятилетие удвоилось число людей с одновременными расстройствами психики и зависимостями

New research from McMaster University is shining a light on the way substance use and mental health conditions are increasingly intertwined. The study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, found one in six Canadians experienced a mood, anxiety or substance use disorder in 2022 — and nearly half of those with a substance use disorder also had a mood or anxiety condition. The research team also found the likelihood of having mood/anxiety and concurrent disorders doubled from 2012 to 2022. A key takeaway from the paper is the pressing need to integrate mental health and substance use services — especially for disproportionately affected youth and females. There are several shared risk factors that contribute to substance use and other disorders occurring at the same time, said lead study author Jillian Halladay, the youth substance use research lead with the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and Offord Centre for Child Studies. “So thinking about belongingness, loneliness, isolation, trauma, socioeconomic disparities, all of those things would put people at risk of both of the problems,” she explained. Halladay is also an assistant professor with McMaster’s School of Nursing and a scientist with the Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton, among other roles. To conduct the study, researchers analyzed nationally representative survey data from Statistics Canada of nearly 35,000 Canadians aged 15 and older, collected in 2012 and 2022. Using a standardized diagnostic interview, they assessed mood, anxiety and substance use disorders, weighing how their prevalence and co-occurrence changed over the decade. The team’s findings also revealed that nearly one in three Canadians aged 15 to 24 had a mood, anxiety or substance use disorder in 2022, and that youth had almost three times the odds of experiencing multiple disorders at the same time compared to adults. While males had higher rates of concurrent disorders overall, females were more affected among those with substance use disorders, researchers found. As for the cause, researchers say it’s likely a combination of broader shifts in related patterns, long-term social changes and the pandemic. Robin Lennox, MPP for Hamilton Centre and NDP critic for mental health, addictions and primary care, explained that opening more pathways to combined care is the best way to proceed. “They used to say, you know, ‘Get your substances under control and then we’ll treat your mental health problem,’ and we know that doesn’t work,” said Lennox, who is also a family doctor. “How are we supposed to help someone stop using substances when that’s the only available way that they have to cope with the symptoms?” In terms of the methodology for the study, Halladay emphasized the numbers haven’t increased simply because more people are seeking help. “I would say that’s often one of the first things people will hypothesize when we’re seeing the increase, especially youth mental health problems over time,” she offered. In this case, the fact that a household survey was incorporated in a general population study meant people didn’t need to reach out in order to be counted as having a disorder. “It was randomly selected using certain strata,” Halladay added, and disorders were identified through interviews. As for future research, the onset of adolescence, and perhaps even as young as eight years old, may be a useful starting point going forward, Halladay said. “We are missing a piece of the puzzle with the existing population monitoring, because it just starts at 15 and there are youth who are struggling that are younger,” she noted. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.