Variations in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and social problems across Canadian provinces

To determine provincial 12-month prevalence rates for selected psychiatric disorders and to assess the association between these and the Canadian Social Problem Index (SPI).

Psychiatric data for depression, mania, panic disorder, social phobia, and agoraphobia were derived from the results of the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being. The Canadian SPI was updated for 2002, and correlations were calculated between the SPI and the 5 diagnostic prevalence values across provinces.

The results showed that the SPI had maintained its tendency to increase from east to west in Canada, a trend reflected by depression and mania. The psychiatric disorders did not show strong correlations with the SPI in 2002, but depression and mania did show relatively strong associations with index values from earlier years. High-to-low ratios across provinces for individual social problems averaged over 5, and the results were essentially of the same magnitude for the ranges of particular psychiatric diagnoses.

The differences in need found here suggest that per capita allocation of funding for mental health and social programs may not be appropriate. The mixed findings on the association between mental disorders and social problem behaviour across provinces leads to more research questions than research answers.