Around 4.8 million Australians (20 per cent) had a mental or behavioural condition in 2017-18 up from 4 million (17.5 per cent) in 2014-15 according to new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS Director of Health, Louise Gates, said the 2017-18 National Health Survey showed this increase was due predominantly to a rise in the number of people with anxiety-related conditions or depression.
“Anxiety-related conditions were the most common mental or behavioural conditions with 13 per cent of Australians affected in 2017-18, up from 11 per cent in 2014-15" Ms Gates said.
“One in ten people had depression (up from 9 per cent in 2014-15) and 6 per cent had both an anxiety-related condition and depression (up from 5 per cent in 2014-15).
“Females were more likely to experience mental or behavioural conditions than males (22 per cent compared with 18 per cent).”
Unlike many other conditions, the proportion of people with a mental or behavioural condition does not increase with age. The highest proportion of people affected was found in the 15-24 year age group where 30 per cent of females and 21 per cent of males had a mental or behavioural condition.
Further details are in National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18 (cat. no. 4364.0.55.001) from the ABS website http://www.abs.gov.au.