Human-driven climate change significantly impacts the environment and human populations, impacting individuals regardless of their physical and geographical characteristics. The connection between temperature and physical health risks like morbidity and mortality is well documented, but its effects on mental health remain less understood.
The previous studies have found an association between higher temperature and externalizing behaviors in youth (9-18 years) in California, increased depressive symptoms in older adults (>45 years) in China, and poorer emotional well-being in adults (>18 years) in the U.S. However, these studies overlook the effects of cold and delayed temperature exposures. Therefore, the research gap is well addressed and explained in the study published in JAMA Network Open.
This study evaluated the relationship between ambient temperature exposure and psychiatric symptoms in adolescents from two European birth cohorts: the Dutch Generation R study and the Spanish INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) project. The participants were selected from live singleton births with daily temperature data for 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months before outcome measurements. The temperature ranged from −5.2 °C to 32.6 °C in the Netherlands and from 3.3 °C to 33.9 °C in Spain. Psychiatric symptoms, including internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems, were assessed by the maternal-reported Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL/6-18).
It included 3,934 participants from the Dutch cohort (mean age =13.6±0.4 years, 50% female) and 885 from the INMA cohort (mean age =14.9±1.0 years, 52% female). In the Dutch cohort, mean square root transformed scores were (2.0±1.2 for internalizing problems), (1.6±1.3 for externalizing problems), and (1.5±1.0 for attention problems). In the INMA cohort, the respective scores were 2.4±1.2, 2.1±1.3, and 1.5±1.1. Cold temperature exposure was linked to increased internalizing problems in the Netherlands, whereas heat exposure was associated with increased attention problems in Spain. Over two months, a high square root score of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.20-1.32) was observed at 5.5 °C in the Netherlands, while a score of 1.52 (95% CI, 0.39-2.66) was recorded at 21.7 °C in Spain.
This study’s limitations include the absence of data on participants’ mental health in non-home environments like schools or social settings and the potential influence of indoor temperature variations due to heating or air conditioning differences.
This study highlights a significant association between temperature exposure and psychiatric symptoms in adolescents from two European countries. Cold exposure in the Netherlands and heat exposure in Spain were linked to increased mental health issues. Future research should explore the broader psychological impacts of climate change, considering additional environmental and social factors.
Reference: Essers E, Kusters M, Granés L, et al. Temperature Exposure and Psychiatric Symptoms in Adolescents From 2 European Birth Cohorts. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(1):e2456898. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.56898
