Young adults are increasingly rating their mental health as poor, a study has found.

Using data from 37 years of surveys, the study examines a range of short- and long-term trends in substance use and mental health. It is based on surveys of about 3,000 adults across Ontario from 1977 to 2013.

Results showed that an estimated 2.2 per cent of the population seriously contemplated suicide in 2013, the first year suicide was included in the survey as a mental-health indicator.

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Young adults used antidepressants in 2013 four times more than they did in 1997.

"The increase in self-rated poor mental health is most concerning, particularly among young adults. … These are the folks that are going to be the future of this country," said Robert Mann, senior scientist at the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a researcher in the study, which was published this week.

Some of the demographic drivers of substance use and mental health trends:

Sex: The study said men are more likely than women to report using alcohol and drugs. Women were more likely to report using anti-anxiety and antidepression medication.

Age: Substance use and mental-health concerns decline with age. They are highest among those 18 to 29 years old – with the exception of daily drinking and poor health, which increase with age.

Marital Status: Substance use and mental-health concerns are higher among people who were never married or previously married, the study said. Previously married people had the highest estimates of daily smoking, self-rated poor health, and impaired mental-health measures. Those never married had higher estimates of weekly binge-drinking, hazardous drinking, and past-year cannabis use.

Education: Mental-health concerns declined with increasing education, with the exception of past-year drinking, which increased with education. Current or daily cigarette smoking and use of prescription opioids were highest among those who did not graduate from high school. It also found that lifetime cocaine use and self-rated poor mental health were lowest among university graduates.

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Geography: The study found that past-year drinking was the lowest in Toronto, and highest in Eastern and Northern Ontario. Also, self-rated poor mental health was highest in Toronto, significantly high in Northern Ontario, and lowest in the southwest London area.

Income: Increasing income was linked to high rates of past-year drinking, alcohol dependence, drinking and driving, and exceeding low-risk drinking guidelines. In contrast, rates of smoking cigarettes and past-year cannabis use were highest among those with the lowest income.

KEY TRENDS

Binge drinking declined from 12.3 per cent in 2006 to 6.8 per cent in 2013.

Daily smoking (smoking at least once a day) declined by almost half from 23 per cent in 1996 to 13.2 per cent in 2013.

Drunk driving declined from 13.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent between 1996 and 2013, most noticeably among male and young adult drivers.

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Self-reported low mental health increased between 2003 and 2011, from 4.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent. The increase was higher for 18-to-29-year-olds, who had a jump from 2.9 per cent in 2009 to 12.1 per cent in 2013.

The use of anti-anxiety medication increased significantly from 4.5 per cent in 1999 to 8.9 per cent in 2013, and the use of anti-depressants increased from 3.6 per cent in 1999 to 7.5 per cent in 2013. The increase was highest amongst younger respondents.

Past-year cannabis users doubled from 1977 to 2013. The percentage of cannabis users aged 50 or older increased from 2 per cent in 1996 to 19 per cent in 2013.

"The increasing use of cannabis may be reflecting more of a normalization of the use of the drug in our society," Dr. Mann said. "It's not so deviant to see a 40-year-old smoking cannabis any more."