Health Reports, December 2025

Mood disorders among older Canadians

Mental health problems, such as mood disorders, are an increasing public health concern in Canada. However, few studies have examined the prevalence of, and factors associated with, mood disorders among older Canadians, particularly across diverse population groups. Using data from 2015 to 2023, the study "Mood disorders among older Canadians" fills an important gap by providing disaggregated estimates for adults aged 65 years and older. These findings can help inform targeted screening and intervention efforts for Canada's aging population.

From 2015 to 2023, on average, 7.0% of older Canadians reported having a diagnosis of a mood disorder, and females (8.3%) were more likely than males (5.5%) to have done so. The prevalence of mood disorders among older Canadians increased steadily from 2015 to 2023 for both males and females. In 2015, 6.1% of older Canadians reported being diagnosed with a mood disorder; this increased to 6.8% in 2021 and reached 8.5% in 2023.

Higher prevalence among Indigenous older adults

Indigenous people were more likely to report having a mood disorder diagnosis (10.4%) than the non-Indigenous, non-racialized population (4.2%). This gap was observed for both males and females, and it persisted even after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, geographic and health-related factors. For example, the odds of having a mood disorder were 1.6 times higher for Indigenous males and 1.2 times higher for Indigenous females compared with their non-Indigenous, non-racialized counterparts. The higher likelihood of having a mood disorder among Indigenous people may be due to factors such as historical and intergenerational trauma, socioeconomic disparities, geographical barriers to health care, and persistent inequities in access to health care services.

Older Canadians in lower income households are more likely to experience mood disorders

Socioeconomic disparities were also evident. Older Canadians living in lower income households were more likely to report having a diagnosis of a mood disorder compared with those living in households with the highest income. For example, individuals in the lowest income households had 1.7 times higher odds of having a mood disorder than those in the highest income households (2.0 times higher for males and 1.4 times higher for females).

Health status and stress are factors

Health-related characteristics were strongly linked to mood disorders. Older Canadians living with multimorbidity (that is, they have two or more chronic conditions) had 1.9 times higher odds of having a mood disorder than those without multimorbidity. Similarly, people who rated their lives as stressful had 3.1 times higher odds of having a mood disorder than those who rated their lives as not at all stressful (3.0 times higher for males and 3.3 times higher for females).

These findings highlight the importance of considering population groups, as well as socioeconomic, geographic and health-related factors—separately for males and females—when examining mood disorders among older Canadians to inform screening and intervention programs.