FEW GET HELP FOR ANXIETY, STUDY FINDS

Depression, addiction and anxiety afflict almost as many people as heart
disease but most sufferers never get help, says a major study by Statistics
Canada.

"It's pretty tragic," said Lorna Bailie, who oversaw the landmark national
survey of mental health released yesterday. It found that one of every 10
Canadians aged 15 or older -- about 2.6 million people -- was depressed,
chronically anxious or addicted to drugs or alcohol in 2001. Of those,
two-thirds were never treated.

"That's pretty alarming," said Bailie, Assistant Director of Health for
Statistics Canada.

Many are too afraid of what family, employers or friends will think, she said.
Some are determined to tough it out alone, while others simply don't know where
to turn. Yet the costs are enormous.

Health Canada estimates that mental illness accounted for almost $5 billion in
direct health-care costs in 1998.

In 2001, University of Ottawa epidemiologist Tom Stephens estimated economic
losses of about $13 billion a year for related sick days and lost productivity.

Conclusions released yesterday by Statistics Canada were drawn from an
$8-million national survey of 37,000 people aged 15 or older.

It's the most detailed databank so far on mental illness in Canada, and will
set valuable benchmarks for research. Young people are especially vulnerable,
the survey concludes.

Health advocates responded by urging federal and provincial governments to
spend more on services and public awareness. About 18 per cent of respondents
aged 15 to 24 -- more than 760,000 people countrywide -- said they were
depressed, anxious or addicted. That compares with 12 per cent of people aged
25 to 44 and 8 per cent of those aged 45 to 64.

Sufferers who did ask for help tended to see their family doctor. Only 12 per
cent saw a psychiatrist and 8 per cent met with a psychologist or nurse. Mood
and anxiety disorders were more common for women, while men were more likely to
turn to alcohol and drugs.