Overview of the literature
| Authors | Sample/ regions | Outcome measures | Main themes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florido Ngu et al. (2021) | Ecological 60 countries worldwide | Heatwaves temperature and/or relative humidity suicides rate | In countries with a significant impact, a 3.5% increase in suicide is observed for every unit rise in heatwave counts. About half of the countries show a notable increase in suicide relative to changes in relative humidity |
| Carleton (2017) | Ecological 1956–2000 India | Temp (daily mean) suicide rates | A 1°C rise in daily temperature during days above 20 °C in India’s growing season corresponds to an annual increase of 0.008 suicides per 100,000 people, with no significant impact observed during nongrowing season |
| Burke et al. (2018) | Ecological US: 1968–2004 Mexico: 1990–2010 N(USA) = 851,088 N(Mexico) = 611, 366 USA, Mexico | Temp (monthly mean, monthly), suicide rates | A 1°C increase in monthly mean temperature is linked to a 0.6% rise in US county suicide rates and a 2.1% increase in Mexican municipalities. This effect holds in both hotter and cooler regions. Unlike all-cause mortality, suicide rates increase at higher temperatures, decrease at colder temperatures and this pattern persists over time, unaffected by income or air conditioning adoption |
| Mullins and White (2019) | Ecological N(ED) = 8,294 N(Suicides) = 2,096,460 N(self-reported mental health) = 4,120,514 USA | Temp (daily mean) daily precipitation, humidity, daily sunlight ED visits related to mental health, self-reported mental health, suicide rates | Higher temperatures led to increased ED visits for mental illness, suicides and self-reported poor mental health days. There’s no evidence of adaptation; the temperature relationship remains stable over time, unaffected by baseline climate, air conditioning rates and mental health service accessibility |
| Tiihonen et al. (2017) | Ecological 1996–2013 N = 551,529 Finland | Temp (monthly mean) Violent crime (proxy for aggression) | A robust correlation was noted between the monthly violent crime rate and the monthly mean ambient temperature. The ambient temperature explained 10% of the variance in violent crime, indicating a 1.7% increase for every 1°C rise |
| Xue et al. (2019) | Difference-in-difference study 2010–2014 N = 21,543 China | Temp (long-term level of temp, temp variability) Self-reported mental health scores, depression scale test | A 1°C increase in temperature variability within a year was correlated with a 15% risk of decreased mental health scores, strongly linked to higher probabilities of feeling nervous, upset, hopelessness and meaninglessness |
| Basu et al. (2018) | Ecological 2005–2013 N = 219,942 US | Temp (daily mean, maximum, minimum) ED visits related to mental health, external-cause injuries | In the warm season, a 5.6°C increase in same-day mean apparent temperature is associated with 4.8%, 5.8% and 7.9% higher risks of visits for mental health disorders, self-injury/suicide and intentional injury/homicide, respectively |
| Hansen et al. (2008) | Ecological N = 171,614 1993–2006 AUS | Mortality attributed to mental, behavioral and cognitive disorders on temperature | Episodes of extreme heat poses a salient risk to the health and well-being of the mentally ill |
| Dang et al. (2022) | Cross-sectional 2017–2019 N = 7,780 Vietnam | Heatwaves combination of intensity and duration admissions for psychiatric illness to mental health hospital | Heatwaves increased all-cause psychiatric hospitalizations by 62% for the main effect and 8% for the added effect. Hospitalizations for psychoactive substance use significantly rose with the main effect of heatwaves. Psychotic disorders were highly vulnerable to both main and added effects |
| Di Giorgi et al. (2020) | N = 100 Cross-sectional Italy | Perception of climate change, loss of social capital and mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms) | Individuals migrating from African nations, facing severe and elevated susceptibility to the effects of climate change, currently reside in Northern Italy |
| Bundo et al. (2021) | Ecological 1973–2017 N = 89,996 Switzerland | Temp (daily mean) psychiatric hospitalizations | A 10°C rise in daily mean temperature leads to a 4.0% linear increase in the risk of hospitalization for mental disorders, even when controlling for air pollution and meteorological factors. The greatest risk is seen in diagnosis of schizophrenia or developmental disorders |
| Authors | Sample/ regions | Outcome measures | Main themes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecological | Heatwaves | In countries with a significant impact, a 3.5% increase in suicide is observed for every unit rise in heatwave counts. About half of the countries show a notable increase in suicide relative to changes in relative humidity | |
| Ecological | Temp (daily mean) | A 1°C rise in daily temperature during days above 20 °C in India’s growing season corresponds to an annual increase of 0.008 suicides per 100,000 people, with no significant impact observed during nongrowing season | |
| Ecological | Temp (monthly mean, monthly), suicide rates | A 1°C increase in monthly mean temperature is linked to a 0.6% rise in US county suicide rates and a 2.1% increase in Mexican municipalities. This effect holds in both hotter and cooler regions. Unlike all-cause mortality, suicide rates increase at higher temperatures, decrease at colder temperatures and this pattern persists over time, unaffected by income or air conditioning adoption | |
| Ecological | Temp (daily mean) daily precipitation, humidity, daily sunlight | Higher temperatures led to increased ED visits for mental illness, suicides and self-reported poor mental health days. There’s no evidence of adaptation; the temperature relationship remains stable over time, unaffected by baseline climate, air conditioning rates and mental health service accessibility | |
| Ecological | Temp (monthly mean) | A robust correlation was noted between the monthly violent crime rate and the monthly mean ambient temperature. The ambient temperature explained 10% of the variance in violent crime, indicating a 1.7% increase for every 1°C rise | |
| Difference-in-difference study | Temp (long-term level of temp, temp variability) | A 1°C increase in temperature variability within a year was correlated with a 15% risk of decreased mental health scores, strongly linked to higher probabilities of feeling nervous, upset, hopelessness and meaninglessness | |
| Ecological | Temp (daily mean, maximum, minimum) | In the warm season, a 5.6°C increase in same-day mean apparent temperature is associated with 4.8%, 5.8% and 7.9% higher risks of visits for mental health disorders, self-injury/suicide and intentional injury/homicide, respectively | |
| Ecological | Mortality attributed to mental, behavioral | Episodes of extreme heat poses a salient risk to the health and well-being of the mentally ill | |
| Cross-sectional | Heatwaves combination of intensity and duration | Heatwaves increased all-cause psychiatric hospitalizations by 62% for the main effect and 8% for the added effect. Hospitalizations for psychoactive substance use significantly rose with the main effect of heatwaves. Psychotic disorders were highly vulnerable to both main and added effects | |
| Perception of climate change, loss | Individuals migrating from African nations, facing severe and elevated susceptibility to the effects of climate change, currently reside in Northern Italy | ||
| Ecological | Temp (daily mean) | A 10°C rise in daily mean temperature leads to a 4.0% linear increase in the risk of hospitalization for mental disorders, even when controlling for air pollution and meteorological factors. The greatest risk is seen in diagnosis of schizophrenia or developmental disorders |
ED = emergency department; Temp = Temperature; AUS = Australia; US = United States of America
Sharing content requires targeting cookies to be enabled. Please update your cookie preferences to use this feature.