Mental Illness during the Pandemic: Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (Cycles 1 and 2) Published: ()

Summary Data tables

Data tables

Download All Tables

Cycle 1 Data (September–December 2020):

Table 1. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD, MDD, and GAD and/or MDD, by age group, by gender, Canada (September–December 2020)
Age group (years) Gender Positive screen for GAD (%) Positive screen for MDD (%) Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)
All age groups, 18+ All genders 13.1 15.2 19.3
All age groups, 18+ Male 9.9 12.6 15.8
All age groups, 18+ Female 16.2 17.5 22.6
18-34 All genders 18.7 23.2 27.5
18-34 Male 13.0 18.3 21.4
18-34 Female 24.5 27.7 33.2
35-49 All genders 12.2 15.2 19.5
35-49 Male 10.7 13.3 16.9
35-49 Female 13.6 17.1 22.1
50-64 All genders 12.7 13.5 17.9
50-64 Male 9.9 12.3 15.7
50-64 Female 15.5 14.8 20.1
65+ All genders 7.5 6.8 10.1
65+ Male 4.7 4.4 7.0
65+ Female 9.8 8.9 12.8
Table 2. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD and/or MDD, by groups with higher prevalence, Canada (September–December 2020)
Groups Responses Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Indigenous identity Indigenous 34.0
Non-Indigenous 19.0
Change in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic Increased 16.3
No change 15.3
Decreased 26.0
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime Yes 22.8
No 13.6
Frontline worker* Yes 25.6
No 18.4

*A frontline worker was defined as "an individual who has the potential to come in direct contact with COVID-19 by assisting those who have been diagnosed with the virus". Examples provided were "police officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses or doctors."

Table 3. Proportion (%) reporting daily heavy alcohol drinking and cannabis use, by GAD and/or MDD, Canada (September–December 2020)
Substance use category Responses Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%) Did not screen positive for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic Increase 26.8 12.9
Heavy alcohol drinking* Daily or almost daily 3.4 1.2
Cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic Increase 14.6 3.3
Use of cannabis Daily 9.9 3.8

* Heavy drinking is defined as 4+ alcoholic drinks for women and 5+ alcoholic drinks for men in one sitting.

Table 4. Proportion (%) screening positive for PTSD, by age group, by gender, Canada (September–December 2020)
Age group (years) Gender Positive screen for PTSD (%)
All age groups, 18+ All genders 6.3
All age groups, 18+ Male 4.4
All age groups, 18+ Female 7.9
18-34 All genders 8.3
18-34 Male 4.6
18-34 Female 11.5
35-49 All genders 6.7
35-49 Male 5.3
35-49 Female 8.2
50-64 All genders 6.7
50-64 Male 5.4
50-64 Female 8.0
65+ All genders 2.7
65+ Male 2.1
65+ Female 3.2
Table 5. Proportion (%) reporting impacts of COVID-19, by PTSD, Canada (September–December 2020)
Impacts of COVID-19 Positive screen for PTSD (%) Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Loss of job/income 37.1 24.5
Difficulty meeting financial obligations/essential needs 40.9 13.8
Death of family/friend/colleague 16.2 5.5
Feelings of loneliness/isolation 80.2 35.9
Emotional distress 83.4 35.1
Physical health problems 64.7 21.3
Challenges in personal relationships within household 48.2 15.9
Table 6. Proportion (%) reporting mental health-related issues, by PTSD, Canada (September–December 2020)
Mental Health-Related issues Positive screen for PTSD (%) Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Positive screen for GAD 67.5 9.2
Positive screen for MDD 75.5 10.9
Thoughts of suicide 47.0 9.6
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic 17.2 4.6
Daily cannabis use 14.3 4.1
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic 25.8 15.0
Heavy drinking* 37.1 28.1

*Heavy drinking is defined as 4+ alcoholic drinks for women and 5+ alcoholic drinks for men in one sitting.

Cycle 2 Data (February–May 2021):

Table 7. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD, MDD, and GAD and/or MDD, by age group, by gender, Canada (February–May 2021)
Age group (years) Gender Positive screen for GAD (%) Positive screen for MDD (%) Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)
All age groups, 18+ All genders 15.3 18.8 23.3
All age groups, 18+ Male 11.9 14.9 18.5
All age groups, 18+ Female 18.3 22.3 27.8
18-34 All genders 24.5 31.3 37.4
18-34 Male 17.1 24.4 28.7
18-34 Female 31.0 37.2 44.9
35-49 All genders 17.8 19.4 25.3
35-49 Male 13.8 15.4 19.6
35-49 Female 21.6 23.7 31.0
50-64 All genders 11.8 15.2 18.5
50-64 Male 11.7 13.8 17.0
50-64 Female 12.0 16.5 19.9
65+ All genders 5.9 8.5 11.1
65+ Male 3.5 5.1 7.4
65+ Female 7.9 11.5 14.4
Table 8. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD and/or MDD, by groups with higher prevalence, Canada (February–May 2021)
Groups Responses Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Indigenous identity Indigenous 30.7
Non-Indigenous 23.1
Change in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic Increased 17.8
No change 18.8
Decreased 32.4
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime Yes 27.0
No 16.8
Frontline worker* Yes 30.1
No 21.9

*A frontline worker was defined as "an individual who has the potential to come in direct contact with COVID-19 by assisting those who have been diagnosed with the virus". Examples provided were "police officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses or doctors."

Table 9. Proportion (%) reporting daily heavy alcohol drinking and cannabis use, by GAD and/or MDD, Canada (February–May 2021)
Substance use category Responses Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%) Did not screen positive for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic Increase 23.2 14.5
Heavy alcohol drinking* Daily or almost daily 3.1 1.8
Cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic Increase 12.8 4.9
Use of cannabis Daily 9.0 4.6

* Heavy drinking is defined as 4+ alcoholic drinks for women and 5+ alcoholic drinks for men in one sitting.

Table 10. Proportion (%) screening positive for PTSD, by age group, by gender, Canada (February–May 2021)
Age group (years) Gender Positive screen for PTSD (%)
All age groups, 18+ All genders 7.5
All age groups, 18+ Male 5.6
All age groups, 18+ Female 9.2
18-34 All genders 11.3
18-34 Male 6.7
18-34 Female 15.5
35-49 All genders 8.3
35-49 Male 6.6
35-49 Female 9.9
50-64 All genders 7.3
50-64 Male 5.9
50-64 Female 8.6
65+ All genders 2.2
65+ Male 2.4
65+ Female 2.1
Table 11. Proportion (%) reporting impacts of COVID-19, by PTSD, Canada (February–May 2021)
Impacts of COVID-19 Positive screen for PTSD (%) Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Loss of job/income 50.2 22.7
Difficulty meeting financial obligations/essential needs 44.3 13.3
Death of family/friend/colleague 22.4 9.9
Feelings of loneliness/isolation 83.7 44.2
Emotional distress 86.7 38.4
Physical health problems 72.4 27.7
Challenges in personal relationships within household 57.2 20.1
Table 12. Proportion (%) reporting mental health-related issues, by PTSD, Canada (February–May 2021)
Mental Health-Related issues Positive screen for PTSD (%) Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Positive screen for GAD 72.6 10.2
Positive screen for MDD 79.0 13.6
Thoughts of suicide 42.0 11.2
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic 18.8 5.5
Daily cannabis use 11.2 5.0
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic 29.3 15.4
Heavy drinking* 35.8 25.2

*Heavy drinking is defined as 4+ alcoholic drinks for women and 5+ alcoholic drinks for men in one sitting.

Report a problem or mistake on this page
Date modified: