Extreme heat and cold may affect teens' mental health

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CC-0. https://pixabay.com/photos/person-winter-back-view-5979544/
CC-0. https://pixabay.com/photos/person-winter-back-view-5979544/

Spanish and Dutch researchers say teens exposed to extreme cold in The Netherlands and extreme heat in Spain have more psychiatric issues than teens who are not exposed to temperature extremes in those countries. The team analysed data on 3,934 teens in the Netherlands and 885 in Spain between 2015 and 2022. they found cold exposure was linked with more internalising problems, which include depression and anxiety, in the Netherlands while heat exposure was linked with more attention problems in Spain. While this type of study cannot prove cause and effect, the authors say further research into the effects of temperature extremes on teens' mental health is warranted as the world warms up.

Media release

From: JAMA

Temperature Exposure and Psychiatric Symptoms in Adolescents From 2 European Birth Cohorts

About The Study: In this cohort study, exposure to cold in the Netherlands and heat in Spain were associated with more psychiatric symptoms, highlighting distinct temperature exposure and mental health associations among adolescents. Future studies should explore this across diverse climates to further quantify the intricate and multifactorial association of climate change with mental health.

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JAMA Network Open
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Organisation/s: ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health), Spain
Funder: The Generation R Study is conducted by the Erasmus Medical Center in close collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam; the Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area, Rotterdam; the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, Rotterdam; and the Stichting Trombosedienst & Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond, Rotterdam. The general design of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam; Erasmus University, Rotterdam; the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development; and the Ministry of Health,Welfare and Sport. The INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) Project is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant Nos. Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041, PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/2018, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/0867, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/02647, PI09/00090, PI09/02311, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI12/00610, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI13/02187, PI13/02429, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, PI17/00663, PI18/00909, PI18/01142, PI19/1338, PI20/01695, and PI23/1578), the European Union (grant Nos. FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957, HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1, cod 874583, and cod 101136566), Miguel Servet-European Regional Development Fund (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional [FEDER]; grant Nos. CP11/00178, CP15/00025, CPII16/00051, CPII18/ 00018, MSII16/00051, and MS20/0006), Generalitat Valenciana (grant Nos. CIAICO/2021/132, BEST/2020/059, AICO 2020/285, AICO/2021/182, and CIDEGENT/2019/064), Consejo General de Enfermería (grant No. PNI22_CGE45), Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (grant Nos. UGP 15-230, UGP-15-244, and UGP-15-249), the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation 2017, Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health, Fundación Cajastur and Universidad de Oviedo, the Department of Health of the Basque Government (grant Nos. 2005111093, 2009111069, 2013111089, and 2015111065), the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (grant Nos. DFG06/002, DFG08/001 and DFG15/221), the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT (Catalan National Science Foundation; grant No. 1999SGR 00241), and annual agreements with the municipalities of the Gipuzkoa study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia, Azpeitia, and Beasain). The authors acknowledge support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and State Research Agency [MCIN/AEI]; grant No. CEX2023-001290-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA (Research Centers of Catalonia) Program, and from the Ministry of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia (grant No. 2021 SGR 01564). This study also received funding from the Agence Nationale de Securite Sanitaire de l’Alimentation de l’Environnement et du Travail (grant No. EST-18 RF-25), and the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 874583, Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome research and Translation). Dr J. Ballester was supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe research and innovation programmes (grant agreement Nos. 865564 [European Research Council Consolidator grant EARLY-ADAPT], 101069213 [European Research Council Proof-of-Concept HHS-EWS], and 101123382 [European Research Council Proof-of-Concept FORECAST-AIR]), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant agreement No. RYC2018-025446-I [programme Ramón y Cajal]). Dr El Marroun was supported by Stichting Volksbond Rotterdam and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Aspasia grant No. 015.016.056). Dr Tiemeier was supported by the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No. 101057529 [FAMILY]). Dr Granés was supported by the Spanish Institute of Health Carlos III (Rio Hortega fellowship No. CM22/00011). This publication was cofinanced by the AEI and the European Social Fund (FSE; reference No. PRE2020-092005) according to the Resolution of the Presidency of the AEI, by which grants are awarded for predoctoral contracts for the training of physicians, call 2020 (awarded to Dr Kusters).
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