Putting a price on mental illness
The Globe and Mail – October 31, 2009
Summary: According to a recent article in The Globe and Mail, the cost of mental illness to the Canadian economy is enormous – $51 billion a year. This includes $5 billion in direct medical costs, $9.3 billion in lost productivity due to short-term sick leave, $8.5 billion in lost productivity due to long-term disability and $28 billion attributed to “reductions in health-related quality of life”. Some other staggering statistics quoted in the article are:
- 500,000 Canadians every day are absent from work due to psychiatric and psychological problems.
- 40% of all disability claims involve mental health conditions.
- 18 % of workers in Canada have had a diagnosis of clinical depression.
In addition, the World Health Organization estimates that “by 2020, depression will be the leading cause of disability on the planet.