Mental health disorders are four to seven times more common for Indigenous adults compared to other Australians, according to research from the University of Queensland.
The school’s Director of Indigenous Health, Dr Maree Toombs, said the results exceeded expectations with disorders broken down into three groups - mood, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.
The contribution of mental health issues to the indigenous health gap and mortality rates have been dramatically underestimated, according to research fellow Professor Geoff Nicholson.