A new study finds that anxiety and depression are on the rise among college students. (ABC News)

According to findings from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated to cost $51 billion per year. In Ontario, mental illness accounts for about 10 per cent of the burden of diseases in the province and receives approximately seven per cent of health care dollars. The cost of a disability leave for a mental illness is about double the cost of a leave due to a physical illness, reports CAMH.

Previous data pulled by the Conference Board of Canada shows anxiety, specifically, has cost the economy $17.3 billion—from health care costs to lost productivity and wages. These stats were further broken down to Yahoo Canada Finance by lead economist of the study, Greg Sutherland.

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Sutherland says of the $17.3 billion, a $7 billion loss is attributed to those aged 25 to 44; $8.3 billion for people aged 45 to 65; $837 million for the 15 to 24 age bracket and he roughly estimates those 65 and over account for $1.2 billion in costs.

Although, one generation is getting hit harder with costs than the rest, says Sutherland.

“The younger generation is a large bulk of the cases and they seem to be reporting it more,” he notes. “If you were to look at the life span, it’s higher in the 15 to 24 year old demographic because they will have this for the rest of their life so their actual lifetime costs are much higher.”

Sutherland sees regional differences with anxiety costs, too, and says there is more reporting of anxiety cases in the east and the Prairies. Using the Stats Canada Community Health Survey as reference, Sutherland says reporting anxiety to employers also depends on what supports are provided in that particular workplace. The more benefits and security perks offered, the more employees feel taken care of.

“Data from those employed in agriculture and primary industries like for example, energy, aren’t as good because workplace benefits are not clearly defined as [in] other industries. Manufacturing is more present in Ontario and Quebec and these workers tend to be members of a union with clearly defined benefits and supports,” explains Sutherland. “However, they also tend to be male-dominated, where the likelihood of reporting is lower.”

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“Regional differences persist and it may be explained by the availability of workplace benefits and supports, rather than one region being more anxious than another region,” he states.

Looking at Canada as a whole, one in five people a year will experience a mental health problem, and anxiety disorders will affect five percent of the household population, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

“People with reported depression could also report to have anxiety too,” Sutherland adds. This makes it hard to see what the actual reporting of anxiety illness is, more so, who is suffering without getting treatment and then factoring in those costs, should they not be covered under OHIP.

Measuring productivity



The costs associated with loss in productivity are also hard to measure. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), of the estimated $51 billion in mental illness costs in Canada a year, $20 billion is attributed to lost productivity in the workplace.

A 2001 analysis from Stephens & Joubert drew on findings from the National Population Health Survey, which saw that those with anxiety, on average, experienced two days of reduced activity during a two-week work period.

A report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) said the global cost for mental illness was at nearly $2.5 trillion in 2010 and estimates that number would reach $6 trillion by 2030. 54 per cent of the financial burden was seen within low to middle income countries and by 2030 that number is expected to jump to 58 per cent.

Hammering down fees

Non-psychiatric direct medical costs account for 54 per cent of the total of the societal costs of anxiety disorders, while direct psychiatric treatment costs accounted for an additional 31 per cent. Mental illness disability claims cost the employer 70 per cent of total disability claims costs, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

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