The Psychological Toll of Heat: The Effects of Temperature on Mental Health in Mexico
52 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2025 Last revised: 29 Jan 2025
Date Written: January 29, 2025
Abstract
Rising global temperatures challenge human well-being, yet their psychological toll remains understudied, particularly in developing countries. Developing countries may face greater challenges due to limited adaptive resources, potentially intensifying the consequences of higher temperatures. Using administrative records of emergency department (ED) visits for mental health issues, suicides, and deaths from mental disorders, along with self-reported well-being data from 2008 to 2019, we study the relationship between temperature and mental health outcomes in Mexico. Our findings show that higher temperatures significantly increase ED visits for mental health issues, particularly mood, neurotic, and substance use disorders, while also elevating suicide rates and deaths from mental disorders. Supporting these findings, self-reported measures of life dissatisfaction, anxiety, and psychological distress also worsen during hotter periods. As an underlying mechanism, we find that people reduce physical activity and shift toward indoor, sedentary behaviors, although no significant disruptions to sleep or elevated societal stress were observed.
Keywords: temperature, mental health, suicide, Mexico
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