Climate change may have a wide impact on mental health.

Dr Lise Van Susteren, a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Health and Global Environment of the Chen School of Health at Harvard University and a private psychiatrist, said: "Climate change may have a surprisingly wide impact on mental health, because it is both the root of the mental health crisis and a' threat multiplier'. Van Susteren talked about the connection between climate change and mental health at the Climate and Health Conference yesterday (February 16). Experts from public health organizations, universities and advocacy groups gathered to pay attention to the impact of climate change on health. Van Susteren said that climate change affects health in five ways.

For example, researchers recorded the link between extreme weather and weather events and higher levels of aggression. 20 13 A study published in the journal Science found that rising temperatures and extreme rainfall are related to the increase of conflicts between individuals and groups. She said:

In an interview with Life Science, Van Souster Lun said that one possible explanation is that the connection between rising temperature and aggression is that rising temperature will increase the level of adrenaline in the body, which may help aggression.

In her speech, Van Susteren also emphasized the connection between the rising level of air pollution and the high risk of neurological and mental diseases. She said that when people inhale particulate matter produced by air pollution, it will enter the olfactory nerve of people and cause neuroinflammation.

Neuroinflammation is associated with diseases of all age groups, including Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment.

However, one question is whether this neuroinflammation can also lead to more traditional mental diseases, such as anxiety and depression, Van Susteren told Life Science. "KDSP" and "KDSP" of American Psychological Association reported that when pregnant women were exposed to air pollutants, Van Souster Lun said that their children were more prone to anxiety and depression. In addition, research shows that on days with poor air quality, the average number of panic attacks and suicide threats is higher, Van Souster Lun said. In this study, all the impacts of climate change on health can be easily quantified. "Not everything important can be counted," she said. On the contrary, she said, the "potential" impact of climate change may cause insurmountable psychological pressure at the social level.

Van Susteren said that in one case, a boy 17 years old in Australia was seriously ill due to climate change and ended up in hospital. The doctor who treated him called his illness "climate change paranoia" in a report published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry in 2009. The boy refused to drink water because he believed that water would kill millions of people in this arid country.

In her speech, Van Souster Lun emphasized the necessity of taking action on climate change. She said that if no action is taken, it will have a far-reaching impact on the mental health of other children.

Originally published in the journal Life Science.