Since 2007, nearly 2500 residents in Montreal's southwest area have been involved in a study on mental health and quality of life. Jean Caron, a researcher at the Douglas Institute and director of the study, recently presented highlights from this project.

• Men are at a lower risk than women of suffering from affective disorders or anxiety disorders, but their rate of alcohol or drug dependency is twice as high.
   
• Age is systematically associated with mental disorders: men and women over the age of 55 have lower rates for all types of mental disorders measured.
   
• All participants with an annual income below $70,000 have an increased risk for each disorder. The risk systematically increases as income decreases.
   
• Participants who speak neither French nor English as a first language have a lower risk than Francophones and Anglophones of developing affective disorders or any other disorder, except for substance abuse problems.

What makes this study original is that, in addition to administering standardized questionnaires, the authors use a geographic information system (GIS) to assess the impact of neighbourhoods' social, economic and physical environments (distance from services, green space, etc.). According to Jean Caron, this study also serves as a powerful management tool. Clip ici

Participants are interviewed once every two years. The first round of data collection started in 2007 and the second began in 2009. The third stage of data collection got underway in fall 2011 and should finish in February 2013.