Summary
This systematic descriptive review synthesised peer-reviewed literature (163 articles from 445 initially identified) on the relationships between climate change, extreme weather events, and mental health outcomes. The authors found that climate change affects mental health through both acute mechanisms (traumatic stress responses to extreme events) and chronic pathways (prolonged exposure to environmental degradation), with considerable heterogeneity in psychiatric phenomenology across populations and geographies. The review highlights a significant evidence gap in psychiatric research on climate-related mental health, attributing this partly to the novelty and complexity of the research area.
UK applicability
The review's global scope provides limited UK-specific data, though UK-relevant findings may include mental health impacts from flooding, heatwaves, and drought—increasingly frequent in British conditions. UK mental health services and public health policy may benefit from the review's framework for understanding climate-related psychological distress, particularly among vulnerable populations.
Key measures
Association between specific climatic/weather events and psychiatric diagnosis categories; population-level vulnerability; temporal patterns of mental health effects; geographical variation in impacts
Outcomes reported
The systematic review identified associations between climate change phenomena (temperature extremes, floods, droughts, fires) and psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, mood disorders, suicide, and aggressive behaviours across different populations and geographical regions. The review examined timing, phenomenology, and differential vulnerability to climate-related mental health impacts.
Topic tags
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