Mental Health

Mood Disorders

Key Messages
Hospital Admission Trends Over Time
Hospital Admissions by Age and Sex
Hospital Admissions and Marginalization
Emergency Department Visit Trends Over Time
Emergency Department Visits by Age and Sex
Emergency Department Visits and Marginalization
Reasons for Admission or Visit
Technical Notes

Key Messages

In 2020, the rate of hospital admissions related to mood disorders decreased by 10% and the rate of emergency department visits decreased by 20% in Simcoe Muskoka. There was a further decrease of hospital admissions, but a small increase in emergency department visits in 2021.
It is unclear if these changes were due to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, both hospital admissions and emergency visits for mood disorders increased significantly in 2018 and 2019 among Simcoe Muskoka residents when compared with 2017.
Females, adults aged 20-44, and persons living in areas with high levels of deprivation had higher rates of both hospital admissions and emergency department visits in Simcoe Muskoka.
The rate of emergency department visits in Simcoe Muskoka was significantly higher than the provincial rate for the past four years (2018 - 2021). The rate of hospitalizations has been consistently higher over the past decade.

Hospital Admission Trends Over Time

In 2021, the age-standardized rate of mood disorder-related hospital admissions was 192 (198.2, 204.1) admissions per 100,000 persons in Simcoe Muskoka.
This is significantly higher than the Ontario rate of 131 (129.1, 132.8) admissions per 100,000 persons.
From 2011 to 2021, the number of mood disorder-related hospital admissions among Simcoe Muskoka residents varied from a low of 874 in 2017 to a high of 1,276 in 2019.
The age-standardized rate of mood disorder-related hospital admissions decreased significantly in Simcoe Muskoka from 2015 to 2017 before increasing significantly from 2017 to 2019. A similar pattern was observed with the provincial rate decreasing significantly from 2015 to 2018 before increasing significantly in 2019. Both the local and provincial rates dropped by 10% in 2020 when compared with 2019. In Simcoe Muskoka, there was a further 3% decrease in 2021, while provincial rates rebounded slightly. It is unclear if these changes were due to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MHMood_Hosp_AgeStd2011to2015_20180326

Hospital Admissions by Age and Sex

Females had a significantly higher rate of mood disorder-related hospital admissions than males in Simcoe Muskoka and provincially.
For 2017 to 2021, combined, the age-standardized rate of mood disorder-related hospital admissions among Simcoe Muskoka females was 225 (217.6, 233.6) admissions per 100,000 females, compared to 160 (153.1, 166.2) admissions per 100,000 males.
Adults aged 20-44 had a significantly higher age-specific rate of mood disorder related hospital admissions than other age groups, with 248 (237.7, 258.2) admissions per 100,000 in Simcoe Muskoka.
Older adults, aged 75 years and up had significantly lower rates than other age groups, with 93 (81.5, 106.1) mood disorder-related hospital admissions per 100,000.
The pattern of age and sex-specific rates across Ontario were similar to the rates in Simcoe Muskoka.

MHMood_Hosp_AgeStdbySex

MHMood_Hosp_AgeSpec_20180326

Hospital Admissions by Marginalization

Hospital admissions for mood disorders were highest among people living in areas with the highest level of material deprivation.
From 2017 to 2021, there were 373 (353.1, 394.8) mood disorder-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people who live in areas with the highest levels of material deprivation, over twice the rate among persons living in areas with the lowest levels of deprivation.

MHMood_Hosp_AgeStdbyIncome

Emergency Department Visits Over Time

The number of mood disorder-related emergency department visits in Simcoe Muskoka residents increased from around 1,400 in 2011 to over 2,000 in each of 2018 and 2019. In 2020, mood disorder-related emergency department visits dropped by about 20% in Simcoe Muskoka, rates increased in 202 but still remain below pre-pandemic levels. It is unclear if these changes were due to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mood disorder-related emergency department visits followed a similar trend across Ontario during this time.
The age-standardized rate for mood disorder-related emergency department visits among Simcoe Muskoka residents in 2021 was320 (305.2, 335.0) visits per 100,000 persons.
This was significantly higher than the provincial rate of 280 (277.3, 282.8) visits per 100,000 population. The local rate has been significantly higher than the provincial rate since 2018.

MHMood_ED_AgeStd2011to2015_20180326

Emergency Department Visits by Age and Sex

Females had a significantly higher rate of mood disorder-related emergency department visits than males, with an age-standardized rate of 403 (392.2, 413.8) visit per 100,000 females compared to 281 (272.1, 289.7) visits per 100,000 males in Simcoe Muskoka for 2016 to 2020 combined.
Adults aged 20-44 had significantly higher rates of mood disorder-related emergency department visits than any other age group in Simcoe Muskoka with an age-specific rate of 518 (503.7, 533.4) visits per 100,000.
The pattern of age and sex-specific rates across Ontario were similar to the rates in Simcoe Muskoka.

MHMood_ED_AgeStd_bySex

MHMood_ED_AgeSpec_20180326

Emergency Department Visits and Marginalization

The age-standardized rate of mood disorder-related emergency department visits was more than twice as high among those living in the most deprived areas with 656 (629.1, 684.6) visits per 100,000 population in Simcoe Muskoka compared to those living in the least deprived areas with 261 (242.8, 280.8) visits per 100,000 population.

MHMood_ED_AgeStd_ByQuint

Reasons for Admission or Visit

The most common diagnoses among mood disorder-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits were for single and recurrent episodes of major depressive disorder.

Technical Notes

Mood disorders can include depressive and bipolar disorders, they are characterized by distress and a loss of control of moods. Depressive mood disorders are associated with loss of energy, decreased sleep, loss of appetite and thoughts of suicide.

The specific diagnostic codes used to identify mood disorder-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits are presented on the OMHRS data source page.