TOPLINE:

Greater exposure to extreme heat days (temperature > 100 °F) was associated with a higher prevalence of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, across all US states than lower exposure, a new study showed.

METHODOLOGY:

• The analysis included data from all 50 US states, collected from the CDC’s Heat and Health Tracker, National Center of Health Statistics, and US Census Bureau, to examine associations between extreme heat exposure and the prevalence of mental health outcomes.
• Researchers measured extreme heat exposure by the average number of extreme heat days during 4 months in the summer of 2020; mental health outcomes were assessed using state-level prevalence rates of depression and anxiety in 2022.
• Regression analyses controlled for demographic factors such as age, sex, educational attainment, insurance status, and race or ethnicity.

TAKEAWAY:

• The median state-level prevalence of mental health conditions was 51%, and the median average number of extreme heat days was 8.
• An increased number of extreme heat days was associated with a higher prevalence of mental health issues (P < .05). Regression analyses showed that exposure to each additional 10 extreme heat days was linked to a 6% increase in the odds of reporting mental health issues (P < .05).
• States with larger proportions of individuals with a high school education or less showed significantly higher odds of mental health issues than states with smaller proportions of individuals with this education level (P = .002).
• States with larger proportions of adults aged 65 years or older had substantially lower odds of mental health issues (P = .04).

IN PRACTICE:

“Our study underscores the growing public health threats posed by climate change,” the investigators wrote, adding that the findings align with previous research showing that “younger populations and communities with lower socioeconomic status, as measured by educational attainment, are disproportionately vulnerable to mental health issues.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Aneta Kwak, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Illinois. It was published online on December 6 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

LIMITATIONS:

The 2022 mental health prevalence data may have been influenced by lingering effects of the COVID pandemic. Additionally, the study was unable to control for all potential confounding variables, including healthcare access, population density, regional climate adaptation policies, and availability of mental health resources. The study sample of 50 states may have limited the generalizability of the findings. 

DISCLOSURES:

The researchers reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.