Overall, the health status of the Quebec population has improved in recent years. Until 2019, life expectancy at birth increased and the life gap between men and women decreased. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has slowed this momentum and there are many challenges for the future: aging of the population, the effect of social inequalities and climate change on health and the emergence of new diseases.
This is the overall portrait drawn by dozens of specialists from different fields in the 2024 report of the National Health Director public which carries out this description by age group.
Adolescence
Less than half of Quebec adults aged 18 to 34 did enough physical activity in 2020-2021 and this was the case for only 31% of high school students in 2022-2023. At the same period, a quarter of these same students spent 4 hours or more per day facing a screen.
In 2022-2023, only one in four students consumed at least four servings of fruits and vegetables as recommended, a good habit that is declining.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of high school students experiencing high levels of psychological distress was increasing. In 2022-2023, it reached 57% among girls (compared to 28% in 2010-2011) and 25% among boys (compared to 14% 15 years ago). In 2010-2011, 51% of girls were satisfied with their appearance; this number had increased to 42% in 2022-2023, a decline of 19%.
“The evolution of mental health among young people undoubtedly remains an element to follow over the coming years,” comment the experts.
There are, however, encouraging indicators. In 2022-2023, barely half of high school students had consumed alcohol, a lower proportion than in 2010-2011. Young people die less often from road injuries today than 30 years ago.
Concerning smoking, fewer and fewer high school students smoke conventional cigarettes.
Adult
Same phenomenon in adults. The proportion of smokers in Quebec has been decreasing for several years and only reached 16% in 2020-2021.
The same year, a quarter of adults aged 50 to 63 suffered from hypertension and only 45% did enough physical activity, which is less than in 2014-2015 (48%).
Still in 2020-2021, excess weight affected men (66%) more than women (52%). Among those aged 25 to 44, the proportion of obesity reached 22.9% and 27.4% among those aged 45 to 64.
Working conditions lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Around one in three employed people suffer from an MSD, or 1.4 million individuals in 2020-2021, which is more than in 2014-2015. No less than 40% of women are affected by MSDs compared to 27% of men.
Due to noise exposure, the number of workers suffering from occupational hearing loss in the province is increasing, affecting 316,000 adults in 2020-2021.
-Mental health
Since 2014-2015, an increasing number of people have experienced high levels of work-related psychological distress. In 2020-2021, the proportion reached 27% among women (an increase of 5% since 2014-2015), and 23% among men (an increase of 4%).
The last few years have been difficult with the pandemic, inflation, environmental concerns and natural disasters. As a result, fewer Quebecers perceived themselves to be in excellent mental health in 2021 (66%) than in 2015 (75%).
One in 10 adults in Quebec has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. In 2019-2020, daily stress was more common among those aged 35 to 49 than in other age groups.
Between 2017 and 2022, on average, 1,078 people took their own lives annually in Quebec and the proportion was three times higher among men than among women.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had very negative effects on health. The authorities note that 44% of adults practice physical activity less often than in the past.
“Although it is too early to quantify the overall long-term repercussions of the pandemic on the health of the population, they could be devastating if the deterioration in lifestyle habits persists,” the experts anticipate.
Effects of climate change on health.
For their part, climate change is already causing various repercussions on the health of the population during extreme weather episodes. The effects of climate change on health are already known:
- Infectious diseases linked to water or food
- Psychological distress, deteriorated mental health
- Post-traumatic stress
- Injuries and deaths from intentional and unintentional trauma
Elderly people
By 2032, one in four people will be aged 65 and over. Promoting healthy aging is therefore essential. Chronic diseases were the cause of more than half of deaths among those aged 65 and over in 2019-2021.
Multimorbidity, i.e. having at least two chronic illnesses, affects a quarter of those aged 50 to 63 and half of those aged 65 and over in 2021-2022. In 2029-2030, 1,179,000 people will suffer from multimorbidity.
In terms of cancer, even if mortality has decreased by a little more than 20% in Quebec over the past 20 years, more than 78,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2030 and a quarter were expected to occur in people under 65.
Nearly 6.8% of Quebecers aged 65 and over suffer from a major neurocognitive disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease. The number of people with such a disorder stood at 121,790 in 2020-2021 and the number is predicted to reach 161,000 in 2029-2030.
