The heat that hit Spain brought temperature above 46°C in some cities of the country. While the government reports levels of risk associated with high temperatures on a daily basis, the health ministry makes no mention of mental health impacts. This is important because recent studies link heat waves to increased suicide rates.
Article published in Scientific reports shows that there is a correlation between heat waves and suicides. Researchers from University College London, the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva and the Institute for Environment and Human Security at the United Nations University analyzed data from 60 countries between 1979 and 2016.
Using a regression model, the researchers found that Suicide rates up 3.5% in countries with heatwaves. Dividing people by gender and age, the study found that women and young people are the most affected by high temperatures. The researchers suggest that these results can be explained by some gender trends, such as the fact that women are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems.
The second study published in Environmental health perspectives, indicates that people with mental health problems are more vulnerable to heat waves. many of drugs used in the treatment of depression, schizophrenia, anxiety or personality disorders, change the body’s ability to thermoregulate. Medications such as antipsychotics, anticholinergics, antidepressants, sedatives, and mood stabilizers reduce sweating or increase heat production.
Humidity is as dangerous as heat
While heat can increase suicide rates, humidity is more important. According to the study, in about half of the countries analyzed, the rate ranges from -6 to 4.9%. In the case of men suicides due to relative humidity increase by 4.3%and in women this figure rises to 5.3%.
“Most of the countries included in the study show a significant relationship between rising relative humidity and changes in suicide rates in the 5 to 14 age group, in addition to the age groups of men 55 and older,” he says.
After careful analysis, the researchers concluded that young people and women suffer the most from heat and humidity. The study also found that people between the ages of 5 and 24 had higher rates. This may be because the brain and nervous system are evolving, making them more susceptible to climate change.
The relationship between heat waves and suicide deaths is examined in another study. Scientists from the London Institute of Psychiatry and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analyzed temperature readings between 1993 and 2003 in England and Wales to determine their effect.
“At temperatures above 18°C, every 1°C increase in average temperature was associated with an increase in suicide and violent suicide by 3.8% and 5.0%, respectively,” they noted. The study showed that the number of suicides increased by 46.9% during the 1995 heat wave. However, the researchers found no change during the heat wave that hit the country in 2003.
Source: Hiper Textual
