Mental health conditions
For related content on people with mental health conditions, see also:
According to the 2019 NDSHS:
- between 2016 and 2019 there was an increase in the proportion of people who had recently used an illicit drug (in the past 12 months) experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress (from 22% to 26%)
- the proportion of people who recently used drugs who had been diagnosed with or treated for a mental health condition in the previous 12 months remained stable at around 26% (AIHW 2020, Table 4.14).
Over 3 in 5 (62%) participants of the 2022 EDRS self-reported mental health issues in the preceding 6 months, an increase from 58% in 2021. The primary issue of concern reported among this population of people who regularly use ecstasy and other stimulants was anxiety (65%) and depression (63%) (Sutherland et al. 2022a) (refer to Box HARM1 for more information).
Data collection for the EDRS for 2022 took place from April–July. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in various jurisdictions, interviews were delivered via face-to-face interview and by telephone. This change in methodology should be considered when comparing data from the 2020, 2021 and 2022 samples relative to previous years.
Pregnancy complications
Supporting the health and wellbeing of women throughout pregnancy helps to ensure healthy outcomes for mothers and their babies. Encouraging healthy behaviours during pregnancy can reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for mothers and their babies.
Tobacco smoking in pregnancy is the most common preventable risk factor for pregnancy complications. Smoking is associated with poorer perinatal outcomes including low birthweight, being small for gestational age, pre-term birth and perinatal death.
Data from the National Perinatal Data Collection showed that, in 2020 compared to babies of mothers who did not smoke, babies of mothers who smoked at any time during pregnancy were more likely to be:
- Low birthweight (13.1% compared with 5.8% of liveborn babies).
- Small for gestational age (16.2% compared with 8.6% of liveborn singleton babies).
- Born pre-term (13.6% compared with 7.7%) (AIHW 2022b).
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is also associated with adverse impacts for development of the fetal brain. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the term used to describe the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). There are currently no data available indicating the prevalence of FASD in Australia, however there have been some jurisdictional based studies which reported birth prevalence of FAS of between 0.01 and 0.68 per 1000 live births. Higher prevalence of FAS is commonly found among Indigenous communities, likely reflecting socioeconomic factors and patterns of alcohol use (Burns et al. 2013).
New Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol were released in December 2020. National Drug Strategy Household Survey data relating to the updated guidelines are available in the Measuring risky drinking according to the Australian alcohol guidelines report.
The latest Australian Guidelines to reduce Health risks from Drinking Alcohol advise that to prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol (NHMRC 2020).
The 2019 NDSHS showed that 65% of pregnant women (aged 14–49) abstained from drinking alcohol during their pregnancy; this is an increase from 40% in 2007 and 56% in 2016. The remaining women reported that they reduced their drinking during pregnancy (35%) compared with when they were not pregnant, and less than 1% reported drinking the same (AIHW 2020).
Questions on substance using during pregnancy were updated in the 2013 NDSHS to provide a more accurate picture of drinking during pregnancy—see 2019 NDSHS Technical notes for further information. Each question collects information about slightly different concepts. The measure about what women consumed before and after knowledge of pregnancy is likely to give the most accurate estimate on the amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy but has only been collected since 2013.
Results from the 2019 NDSHS showed that among pregnant women aged 14–49 who were unaware of their pregnancy, about 1 in 2 (55%) consumed alcohol before they knew they were pregnant, and this declined to 14.5% once they knew they were pregnant. Among all pregnant women, regardless of whether they knew they were pregnant, 3 in 10 (30%) reported drinking alcohol during pregnancy and this has declined from 42% in 2013 (AIHW 2020).
For related content on injecting drug use, see also:
The 2019 NDSHS estimates that a very low proportion of the Australian general population aged 14 and over have injected drugs, either in their lifetime (1.5%) or in the past 12 months (0.3%) (AIHW 2020, tables 4.2 & 4.6). People who inject drugs are at a higher risk of living with HIV and hepatitis C (UNODC 2022).