Mental Health in Australia: Psychological Distress Reported in Six Consecutive Cross-Sectional National Surveys From 2001 to 2018

Joanne Enticott; Shrinkhala Dawadi; Frances Shawyer; Brett Inder; Ellie Fossey; Helena Teede; Sebastian Rosenberg; Ingrid Ozols Am; Graham Meadows

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.815904

Mental Health in Australia: Psychological Distress Reported in Six Consecutive Cross-Sectional National Surveys From 2001 to 2018

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 1:13:815904. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.815904. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Joanne Enticott^{1

2}, Shrinkhala Dawadi^{1

2}, Frances Shawyer¹, Brett Inder³, Ellie Fossey^{4

5}, Helena Teede², Sebastian Rosenberg⁶, Ingrid Ozols Am^{1

7}, Graham Meadows^{1

2

5

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Southern Synergy, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
² Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
³ Monash Business School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Department of Occupational Therapy, Monash University Peninsula Campus, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Mental Health at Work, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Centre for Mental Health, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁹ Monash Health, Dandenong, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine Australian psychological distress trends from 2001 to 2017/18, including analysis by age, sex, location, and household income.

Methods: Secondary analysis of the working age population (18-64 years) in six successive representative national health surveys. Measures were prevalence of psychological distress at very-high symptom level (defined by a Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) score of 30 or more) and combined high/very-high level (K10 score of 22 or more). Very-high K10 scores are associated with mental health problems meeting diagnostic thresholds in past year.

Results: From 2001 to 2017/18 Australian rates of K10 very-high distress rose significantly from 3.8 to 5.1% and combined high/very-high from 13.2 to 14.8%. In women aged 55-64, very-high distress rose significantly and substantially from 3.5 to 7.2% and high/very-high distress from 12.4 to 18.7%. In men aged 25-34, very-high distress increased from 2.1 to 4.0% and high/very-high from 10.6 to 11.5%. Income was strongly and inversely associated with distress (lowest vs. highest quintile adjusted OR 11.4). An apparent association of increased distress with regional location disappeared with adjustment for income.

Conclusion: Australia's population level of psychological distress increased significantly from 2001-2017/18, with levels highest in women and with rates inversely associated with income. This is likely to be indicative of increased community rates of mental disorders. Given that this has occurred whilst mental healthcare expenditure has increased, there is an urgent need to reconsider how best to respond to mental illness, including targeting the most vulnerable based on social determinants such as age, gender, and lower incomes.

Keywords: mental health; mental health services; population measures; prevalence; psychological distress.