Mental Illness during the Pandemic: Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) cycles 1, 2 & 3:

Data tables presenting data for SCMH cycles 1, 2 & 3

Last updated: 2025-06-26
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Data Tables

Cycle 1 Data (September to 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
Indigenous identity	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
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime	No	13.6
Frontline worker*	Yes	25.6
Frontline worker*	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 (%) of people reporting frequent and increased alcohol and cannabis use, by status of GAD and/or MDD screening, Canada (September-December 2020)

Substance use category	Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)	Did not screen positive for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic	26.8	12.9
Daily or almost daily heavy drinking*	3.4	1.2
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic	14.6	3.3
Daily use of cannabis	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 use of cannabis	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 to 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
Indigenous identity	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
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime	No	16.8
Frontline worker*	Yes	30.1
Frontline worker*	No	21.9

Table 9. Proportion (%) of people reporting frequent and increased alcohol and cannabis use, by status of GAD and/or MDD screening, Canada (February-May 2021)

Substance use category	Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)	Did not screen positive for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic	23.2	14.5
Daily or almost daily heavy drinking*	3.1	1.8
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic	12.8	4.9
Daily use of cannabis	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 use of cannabis	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.

Cycle 3 Data (February to May 2023):

Table 13. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD, MDD, and GAD and/or MDD, by age group, by gender, Canada (February-May 2023)

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	17.7	22.8
All age groups, 18+	Male	12.0	14.9	19.3
All age groups, 18+	Female	18.4	20.2	26.1
18-34	All genders	21.6	27.9	34.7
18-34	Male	16.1	24.0	30.0
18-34	Female	27.6	31.7	39.4
35-49	All genders	19.1	19.9	26.3
35-49	Male	14.1	16.2	21.2
35-49	Female	24.0	23.5	31.3
50-64	All genders	12.0	14.5	18.1
50-64	Male	10.8	12.0	15.3
50-64	Female	13.4	17.0	21.0
65+	All genders	7.3	7.7	10.9
65+	Male	6.1	6.1	9.1
65+	Female	8.2	9.1	12.5

Table 14. Proportion (%) screening positive for GAD and/or MDD, by groups with higher prevalence, Canada (February-May 2023)

Groups	Responses	Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Indigenous identity	Indigenous	32.9
Indigenous identity	Non-Indigenous	22.7
Change in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Increased	23.6
	No change	18.8
	Decreased	33.9
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime	Yes	28.2
Experienced at least one traumatic event during lifetime	No	12.9
Frontline worker*	Yes	28.8
Frontline worker*	No	23.0

Table 15. Proportion (%) of people reporting frequent and increased alcohol and cannabis use, by status of GAD and/or MDD screening, Canada (February-May 2023)

Substance use category	Positive screen for GAD and/or MDD (%)	Did not screen positive for GAD and/or MDD (%)
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic	20.7	8.6
Daily or almost daily heavy drinking*	3.2	1.0
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic	16.7	4.0
Daily use of cannabis	9.6	3.4

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

Table 16. Proportion (%) screening positive for PTSD, by age group, by gender, Canada (February-May 2023)

Age group (years)	Gender	Positive screen for PTSD (%)
All age groups, 18+	All genders	7.9
All age groups, 18+	Male	6.3
All age groups, 18+	Female	9.3
18-34	All genders	11.7
18-34	Male	9,0
18-34	Female	14.3
35-49	All genders	9.4
35-49	Male	7.7
35-49	Female	10.9
50-64	All genders	6.5
50-64	Male	5.0
50-64	Female	8.1
65+	All genders	3.3
65+	Male	2.8
65+	Female	3.9

Table 17. Proportion (%) reporting impacts of COVID-19, by PTSD, Canada (February-May 2023)

Impacts of COVID-19	Positive screen for PTSD (%)	Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Loss of job/income	35.9	19.2
Difficulty meeting financial obligations/essential needs	45.1	19.5
Death of family/friend/colleague	33.2	19.4
Feelings of loneliness/isolation	74.1	35.7
Emotional distress	80.3	36.1
Physical health problems	68.0	28.7
Challenges in personal relationships within household	51.0	19.3

Table 18. Proportion (%) reporting mental health-related issues, by PTSD, Canada (February- May 2023)

Mental Health-Related issues	Positive screen for PTSD (%)	Did not screen positive for PTSD (%)
Positive screen for GAD	69.3	10.4
Positive screen for MDD	80.0	11.9
Thoughts of suicide	41.8	11.1
Increase in cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic	19.4	5.6
Daily use of cannabis	11.4	4.0
Increase in alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic	21.2	10.2
Heavy drinking*	32.7	26.7

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

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Date modified:: 2025-06-26

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Mental Illness during the Pandemic: Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) cycles 1, 2 & 3:

Data Tables

Cycle 1 Data (September to December 2020):

Cycle 2 Data (February to May 2021):

Cycle 3 Data (February to May 2023):

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