Extreme temperatures – very hot or very cold – can affect the mental health of young people, according to a study by Spanish and Dutch researchers.
- Exposure to cold leads to more internalized behavior such as depression or anxiety in adolescents.
- Young people exposed to hot weather have more attention problems than others.
- Researchers note that the associations discovered could be more pronounced as climate change intensifies.
Stroke, heart attack, migraine … Several studies have already highlighted the disturbing effects of climate change on the body. But the latter would also impact mental health and the behavior of adolescents. A Hispano-Dutch team shows that the extreme temperatures whether they are very high or very low-increase the risk of mental disorders in young people.
Mental health: more internalized behaviors in teens when it’s cold
For this study published in the journal Jama Network Open On January 28, 2025, the researchers followed nearly 4,000 Dutch children and 885 young Spaniards between 2015 and 2022 and noted the mental disorders or behaviors they presented. In parallel, the average daily room temperature over periods of 2 weeks, a month and two months was also calculated.
By comparing all of the data obtained, scientists have noticed that exposure to cold (5.5 degrees) of adolescents over a period of two months was linked to an increased risk of internalized behavioral problems. We can for example cite anxiety, depression, social withdrawal or even phobias.
Young people exposed to heat greater than 21.7 degrees for two months had more attention problems. On the other hand, no link was found between externalized problems such as aggressiveness and temperature.
Mental health and temperatures: a link that could intensify
“In conclusion, we highlight distinct associations between exposure to temperature and psychiatric symptoms of adolescents in two European countries: the cold was associated with more internalization problems in the Netherlands, and the heat to more attention problems in Spain “write the authors in their article.
In addition, these results raise certain concerns in them. “As climate change intensifies, these associations could become more pronounced in the near future”they underline before calling for more study on this problem, in particular by observing the effects of the variation of temperatures on adolescents living in other countries and other climates.
