Poor health associated with mental distress among Inuit: StatsCan

The eleven variables that Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami uses to represent the social determinants of Inuit health. (IMAGE COURTESY OF STATSCAN)

Inuit men and women questioned in the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey were more likely to be in mental distress if they suffered from poor physical health, says a study released Nov. 17 by Statistics Canada.

According to the survey’s results, the top two factors contributing to mental distress for Inuit men and women: chronic physical conditions and unmet healthcare needs.

But the next strongest factors affecting the mental well-being of Inuit men and woman differed between the genders, said a study of the survey results by researcher Thomas Anderson.

For Inuit men, poor food security was the next biggest factor, while living in a home requiring major repairs was the next biggest distress-causing factor for Inuit women.

About 50,000 Inuit, Metis and First Nations people living off reserves took part in the survey.

In part, the survey tried to gauge levels of mental health and the factors contributing to those levels.

The contributing factors looked at in Anderson’s study were defined by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which identified mental wellness as the “single most important health issue for Inuit in Canada.”

After food security, Inuit men identified serious injury and poor social or family ties as the next biggest factors contributing to mental distress.

For women, the next biggest factors: poor family ties, living in an overcrowded home and using drugs at least once in their life.

Anderson also found an unexplained link between the education levels of Inuit men and levels of mental distress.

Inuit men with a high school education showed lower signs of mental distress than men without a high school education.

But Inuit men with a post-secondary education showed higher levels of distress compared with those with only a high school education.

This trend has been seen among other Aboriginal populations in Canada, Anderson wrote, and may be the result of a higher sense of responsibility and expectations among those with a post-secondary education.

Among both Inuit genders, those with diagnosed mood or anxiety disorders showed higher levels of mental distress.

And those with higher levels of mental distress were more prone to suicidal thoughts, Anderson wrote.

The author admits that the survey only provides a snapshot of mental distress levels among Inuit at one particular moment. A longer-term study would be “immensely valuable” in determining some causes of poor mental health, Anderson wrote.

There may also be unknown cultural biases built into the survey’s approach, he said.

As well, two factors important to mental health as defined by ITK — the environment and the quality of early childhood development — couldn’t be measured by the survey.