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Health

Mental health is not improving after major declines during the pandemic. Physical care is increasingly precarious, with lower-income Torontonians struggling to find a family doctor and seeing their life expectancy drop, depending on what part of the city they call home.

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10 Issues-final_M-Health

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are as high in mid-2024 as in 2021, potentially due to increased financial precarity.

  • More than a quarter (26%) of adults in Toronto still report at least moderate symptoms of depression in the third quarter of 2024, with 17% reporting at least moderate symptoms of anxiety — unchanged since 2021.viii 
  • Rates of anxiety and depression are particularly higher among young adults, those with lower household incomes and those who are financially struggling, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and those with disabilities.
  • People who rely on food banks are five times more likely to report moderate symptoms of depression (62% versus 12.5%) and anxiety (52% versus 8%) than those who have no financial concerns around food.ix  

Where you live influences whether you have a family doctor and how long you’ll live.

  • More than half a million Torontonians don’t have a family doctor, including more than 120,000 people with the lowest incomes.x,xi
  • In the 10 fastest-growing neighbourhoods, only 73% of residents are attached to a primary-care provider, compared to 82% in slower-growing neighbourhoods.xii
  • Life expectancy in more affluent areas like Casa Loma is 84.8 and falls as low as 74.8 years in lower-income Moss Park, compared to the city-wide average of 80.9 (as confirmed by first-of-its-kind research led by The Local and St. Michael’s Hospital in October 2024).xiii  
Health
Natasha Francis (health)

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ENDNOTES:

Infographics:

1. The highest life expectancy is in Yonge-Doris, an average income neighbourhood. But high income neighbourhoods like or Casa Loma or Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills are only slightly behind with life expectancy all greater than 84 years. Huynh, Tai. (2024, October 8). Life Expectancy Varies by Almost 12 Years Across Toronto Neighbourhoods. The Local. https://thelocal.to/life-expectancy-varies-by-almost-12-years-across-toronto-neighbourhoods/ 

Data:

  • viii Data provided by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC). All analysis is by the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of MHRC. “Toronto” refers to the “City of Toronto” in this analysis, based on postal codes beginning with ”M”. Data here is from MHRC’s 2021–2024 polls, up until Poll 20, which took place in July 2024. Anxiety and depression symptoms were scored using standard instruments for assessing anxiety and depression (the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7). Data is only shown for people who scored a 10 or higher on each scale, which is consistent with symptoms of a major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder if these responses were given in a clinical setting as opposed to a public poll. There were 734 respondents from Toronto in 2024 and 1550 in 2021. Data is measured on a two-quarter moving average due to sample sizes. Comparable results for Q3 2021 were rates of 26% for depression and 16% for anxiety.  
  • ix Data provided by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC). All analysis was conducted by the author and does not necessarily reflect the view of MHRC. Please see the previous footnote for details on the survey. Depression and anxiety were measured as described in the previous footnote. Reliance on food banks was measured using the following question: Which of the following describes your current situation?, I have no financial concerns about feeding myself and my family; I’m concerned financially about sufficiently or adequately providing healthy food for my family; I’m relying on one or more food programs (food bank, breakfast club etc.) to feed myself and my family. Only 90 respondents in Toronto reported relying on food banks between 2021 and 2024, so interpret the specific numbers with caution. 
  • x Canadian Press. (2024, March 5). Half a million people in Toronto don't have a family doctor, college says. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/family-doctors-toronto-1.7134337 
  •  xi Ogilvie, Megan. (2023, April 6). Toronto residents increasingly don’t have a family doctor. Here’s why. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/toronto-residents-increasingly-don-t-have-a-family-doctor-here-s-why/article_1e091c99-aa4b-5b02-96f7-5e3aed8219a3.html  
  • xii Data on population growth was provided by the City of Toronto. Data on attachment to primary-care providers is from https://www.ontariohealthprofiles.ca/dataTablesON.php?varTab=HPDtbl&select1=7#. Data was combined by the researchers, with all calculations done by the researchers.  
  • xiii The highest life expectancy is in Yonge-Doris, an average income neighbourhood. But high income neighbourhoods like or Casa Loma or Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills are only slightly behind with life expectancy all greater than 84 years. Huynh, Tai. (2024, October 8). Life Expectancy Varies by Almost 12 Years Across Toronto Neighbourhoods. The Local. https://thelocal.to/life-expectancy-varies-by-almost-12-years-across-toronto-neighbourhoods/