Hot weather may put more pressure on mental health services in emergency departments

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-15 16:49

Australia; NSW

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Hot weather could put pressure on the mental health services of emergency departments, with Australian researchers finding that women are more likely to visit an ED for mental health issues when temperatures are high. The study showed that while there was a trend towards more mental health-related ED visits in hot weather for both men and women, the significant differences were only seen in women, where the risk rose significantly at temperatures of 29.2°C or more. The researchers say their study should alert health services to the potential effects of high ambient temperatures on the frequency of mental health presentations to emergency departments.