There is little information about the prevalence of mental disorder in Australia. A major study to be conducted in 1997 under the National Mental Health Strategy will be Australia's first national epidemiological study of mental disorder. The median age for symptoms to appear is 16 years and the illness has a variable course though the average duration is five years. The extent of disability associated with mental disorders is variable, even within subgroups of particular disorders. Co-morbidity is common with many individuals having more than one mental disorder and commonly having mental disorder with other conditions.
Substance abuse remains a significant mental health problem and disorder.
25,500 people die each year from drug and alcohol related deaths - about one fifth of all deaths. Suicide is the leading cause of injury death in Australia with rates of 20.8 and 5.5 per 100,000 for males and females respectively in 1995. 6 Suicide rates among people with mental disorders who are clients of specialised mental health services are 180 per 100,000 in NSW, the only state with surveillance of deaths in public specialised mental health services. The Public Health Association of Australia joins with other community organisations in expressing concern about this trend, most marked in Victoria. Support the extension of and monitor the progress of the National Mental Health Strategy for the period 1997 - 2001.