A new study comes as the United States continues to recover from the July 4th heat wave. natural health The first multinational study of heatwave-related mental health hospitalizations led by Australia’s Monash University warns of an impending rise in people attending hospital with mental health and behavioral disorders.
The study, led by Professor Yuming Guo and Professor Shanshan Li and published in Nature Health, looked at more than 2.6 million warm-season hospitalizations in 852 locations in Brazil, Canada, Chile and New Zealand between 2000 and 2019 and found that sustained exposure to extreme heat, such as those experienced during heatwaves, is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for mental and behavioral disorders.
A heat wave is defined as a period of very high ambient temperatures for several days during which there is a significant increase in heat-related illness and death.
Professor Guo said the association between heatwave exposure and hospitalization for mental and behavioral disorders was more pronounced among older people and those living in sparsely populated areas.
These findings indicate that prolonged heat waves can sharply increase mental health-related hospital demand and may support targeted preparedness during severe heat waves. ”
Yuming Guo, Professor at Monash University
Professor Lee added that climate change is “emerging as an urgent factor impacting mental health globally, with extreme weather events, resource scarcity, and ecosystem disruption amplifying psychological stress and mental health risks.”
“And one of the prominent climate-related issues is the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves, such as those currently being experienced across the United States and Europe,” she said.
Heat waves can cause acute exacerbations of mental and behavioral disorders through sleep disturbances and physiological stress responses, and individuals with thermoregulatory disorders and drug-related heat hypersensitivity are more vulnerable.
Heat-related psychological distress and behavioral changes during heatwaves may further contribute to symptom instability and increased hospitalizations.
This study is the first to estimate the risk and burden of hospitalization for heatwave-related mental and behavioral disorders across countries, gender, age, GDP per capita, population density, air conditioning prevalence, travel time to health facilities, and causes of mental health and behavioral disorders.
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Reference magazines:
Ryu, Y. others. (2026) Hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders associated with persistent heat waves in multiple countries. natural health. DOI: 10.1038/s44360-026-00166-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00166-2.
