Title: The Intersection of Climate Change and Mental Health: The Case of Schizophrenia
The mercury is soaring across India and other parts of the world, with many places reporting unusual temperature records. While it may be difficult to directly attribute each heat event to climate change, it is a known fact that climate change is causing such anomalies with greater intensity and frequency. Moreover, climate change is disproportionately affecting societies’ most vulnerable members, including those with physical ailments, the elderly, the poor, and the socially and economically marginalized.
A recent study published in the journal GeoHealth (2023) sheds light on another dimension of climate change’s multi-dimensional assault on reality: its potential to exacerbate existing mental health conditions. The study reported that an extreme heat event in the Canadian province of British Columbia in 2021 affected people with schizophrenia more than those with kidney and heart disease. The study’s authors found that people with mental health conditions, particularly schizophrenia, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, are at a greater risk of succumbing to heat-related deaths.
The study analyzed data from 1,614 deaths recorded over a month in 2021 and compared it with 6,524 deaths recorded in the same time period nine years ago. The researchers found that people with schizophrenia were at a greater risk of heat-related distress than those with kidney and heart diseases. Specifically, 8% of the people surveyed in 2021 were previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, compared to 2.7% of the people surveyed nine years ago.
The researchers believe that one of the main reasons people with schizophrenia are more vulnerable to heat stress is due to the dysfunction of the hypothalamus, a structure embedded deep in the human brain that maintains the body’s homeostasis. Certain antipsychotic medications prescribed to people with schizophrenia have also been found to interfere with the hypothalamus’s workings, increasing the risk of heat-related distress.
This study highlights yet another tentacle of climate change’s far-reaching effects on human health, demonstrating the need for further research and advocacy for vulnerable populations. It is essential that families and caregivers of individuals living with schizophrenia are aware of the increased risk of heat-related illness and take prompt action during heatwaves. Educating ourselves about the symptoms of heat-related illness and taking emergency cooling measures can help ensure everyone’s safety during such events.
In conclusion, climate change’s non-linear effects are compounding rapidly, affecting several walks of human life both directly and indirectly. The GeoHealth study adds to previous work that has examined climate change’s influence on various aspects of human life. The intersection of climate change and mental health, as shown in this study, is one more example of the urgent need for action and advocacy for vulnerable populations.