Posttraumatic stress disorder among adults in Canada:

Background

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may occur after exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), such as actual, perceived, or threatened death, or sexual violence. A PTSD diagnosis requires a trained and licensed clinician to assess a specific set of signs and symptoms. PTSD may be diagnosed if symptoms persist for more than one month and cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.Footnote 1

The Survey on Mental Health and Stressful Events (SMHSE) was conducted to better understand how stressful events can impact a person's mental health. It collected information on self-reported exposure to specific PPTEs experienced, positive screens for PTSD (i.e. moderate to severe symptoms identified using a screening tool) and self-reported diagnoses of PTSD by a healthcare professional.

The SMHSE was conducted among adults living in the 10 Canadian provinces. Data were collected from August to December 2021 (cycle 1) and from September to December 2023 (cycle 2).

This data blog also provides more detailed tables on the data from the SMHSE. To see these tables, visit the "Data tables" tab above. To download versions that include 95% confidence intervals, click on the ZIP icon above.

For details about measurement of PPTEs and PTSD, see the "Technical Notes" below.

SMHSE- Cycle 2 (September to December 2023)

Summary of findings from SMHSE cycle 2 (September to December 2023)

Prevalence of PPTE types

  • 64.4% of adults in Canada reported experiencing at least one PPTE type in their lifetime.
  • The most commonly reported PPTE types were:
    • transportation accident (31.5%)
    • physical assault (18.8%)
    • life-threatening illness or injury (17.8%)
  • Some PPTE types were much more common among women*, notably:
    • sexual assault (16.1% among women; 4.9% among men)
    • other unwanted sexual experience (24.3% among women; 7.0% among men)

Prevalence of PTSD diagnosis

  • 7.7% reported having received a diagnosis of PTSD by a health professional at any point in their lifetime.
    • 6.1% reported currently being diagnosed with PTSD by a health professional.

Prevalence of screening positive for PTSD

Overall

  • 8.5% of adults in Canada screened positive for PTSD (i.e., had moderate to severe symptoms).

By age and gender*

  • 9.9% among women, compared to 7.0% among men.
  • 13.3% among those aged 18 to 24, compared to 3.0% among those aged 65+.

By sociodemographic characteristics

  • 10.3% among those in the lowest third of household income, compared to 6.6% for the highest third.
  • 10.1% among those with more than high school but less than university, compared to 6.8% among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • 12.7% among those who never married and, 11.2% among those who were separated, divorced, or widowed compared to 6.4% among those who were married or living common law.

By health and mental health factors

  • 23.1% among those who rated their general health as fair or poor, compared to 6.0% among those who rated their general health as good, very good, or excellent.
  • 29.9% among those who rated their general mental health as fair or poor, compared to 2.4% among those who rated their general mental health as good, very good, or excellent.
  • 28.1% among those who reported having a current diagnosis of a mood and/or anxiety disorder, compared to 3.4% among those who did not.
  • 20.5% among those who reported daily or almost daily heavy drinking in the past month, compared to 10.1% and 5.6% among those who reported less than daily heavy drinking and no heavy drinking, respectively.
  • 25.7% among those who reported daily cannabis use in the past month, compared to 14.8% and 6.8% among those who reported less than daily and no cannabis use, respectively.
  • 28.4% among those who reported ever having seriously contemplated suicide, compared to 4.2% among those who did not.
  • 25.9% among those with a low level of social support, compared to 5.9% among those with a high level of social support.

By type of PPTE

  • The PPTE types with the highest prevalence of screening positive for PTSD were:
    • captivity (31.7%)
    • sexual assault (27.9%)
    • assault with a weapon (24.3%)

* Respondents were also given the option to report a gender identity other than man or woman. Those who did so were excluded from all analyses for confidentiality reasons.

SMHSE- Cycle 1 (August to December 2021)

Summary of findings from SMHSE cycle 1 (August to December 2021)

Prevalence of PPTE types

  • 64.9% of adults in Canada reported experiencing at least one PPTE type in their lifetime.
  • The most commonly reported PPTE types were:
    • transportation accident (35.3%)
    • physical assault (18.5%)
    • life-threatening illness or injury (18.4%)
  • Some PPTE types were much more common among women*, notably:
    • sexual assault (15.4% among women; 4.4% among men)
    • other unwanted sexual experience (23.4% among women; 6.4% among men)

Prevalence of PTSD diagnosis

  • 6.8% reported having received a diagnosis of PTSD by a health professional at any point in their lifetime.
  • 5.4% reported currently being diagnosed with PTSD by a health professional.

Prevalence of screening positive for PTSD

Overall

  • 8.0% of adults in Canada screened positive for PTSD (i.e., had moderate to severe symptoms).

By age and gender*

  • 10.2% among women, compared to 5.7% among men.
  • 13.6% among those aged 18 to 24, compared to 3.3% among those aged 65+.

By sociodemographic characteristics

  • 9.9% among those in the lowest third of household income, compared to 7.5% and 7.0% for the middle and highest third, respectively.
  • 9.1% among those with more than high school but less than university and 8.9% among those with high school or less, compared to 6.4% among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • 12.1% among those who never married, compared to 10.2% among those who were separated, divorced, or widowed and 6.0% among those who were married or living common law.
  • 9.0% among non-immigrants, compared to 5.3% among immigrants.

By health and mental health factors

  • 22.7% among those who rated their general health as fair or poor, compared to 5.8% among those who rated their general health as good, very good, or excellent.
  • 28.9% among those who rated their general mental health as fair or poor, compared to 2.9% among those who rated their general mental health as good, very good, or excellent.
  • 26.8% among those who reported having a current diagnosis of a mood and/or anxiety disorder, compared to 3.2% among those who did not.
  • 18.4% among those who reported daily or almost daily heavy drinking in the past month, compared to 8.8% and 6.0% among those who reported less than daily heavy drinking and no heavy drinking, respectively.
  • 24.4% among those who reported daily cannabis use in the past month, compared to 13.9% and 6.3% among those who reported less than daily and no cannabis use, respectively.
  • 26.1% among those who reported ever having seriously contemplated suicide, compared to 4.5% among those who did not.
  • 25.6% among those with a low level of social support, compared to 5.4% among those with a high level of social support.

By type of PPTE

  • The PPTE types with the highest prevalence of screening positive for PTSD were:
    • captivity (37.2%)
    • sexual assault (28.9%)
    • causing serious injury, harm or death to someone else (28.4%)

* Respondents were also given the option to report a gender identity other than man or woman. Those who did so were excluded from all analyses for confidentiality reasons.

Technical notes

Potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) were assessed with a modified version of the Life Events Checklist (LEC-5).Footnote 2 Respondents were asked if they had directly or indirectly experienced each of a list of 17 PPTEs in their lifetime. Those who had experienced at least one PPTE were then asked about symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on the PPTE they identified as the worst they ever experienced.

Screening positive for PTSD means scoring higher than 32 (out of 80) on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5),Footnote3 indicating moderate to severe symptoms of PTSD in the past month. While a diagnosis of PTSD requires a trained and licensed clinician, a validated screening tool such as the PCL-5 can identify individuals who may have PTSD but would need further assessment to confirm a diagnosis.

Respondents in the Survey on Mental Health and Stressful Events (SMHSE) were asked about conditions, including PTSD, that had been diagnosed by a health professional that had already lasted, or were expected to last, 6 months or more. A current diagnosis of PTSD means the individual currently has a PTSD diagnosis and a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD means the individual either currently has a PTSD diagnosis or had a PTSD diagnosis at some time in the past.

Apart from a statistically significant difference in the proportion of respondents who identified transportation accident among PPTE types across cycles 1 and 2 of the SMHSE, any apparent differences in proportions across cycles are likely due to sampling variability and should not be interpreted as true differences.

Additional resources

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