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Abstract
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The mental illness tripled the risk of death during a searing 2021 heat wave, researchers find.
On 25 June 2021, as a blanket of hot air descended on the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia's provincial government issued a news release warning about the approaching heat wave's dangers. The announcement drew attention to the elderly, children, people working or exercising outdoors, pets, and "people with emotional or mental health issues whose judgment may be impaired."
Even so, more than 600 people died from the heat in British Columbia, as temperatures topped 40°C for days, shattering records in a region better known for temperatures usually half as high.
Now, new research has zeroed in on one of the hardest hit groups: people with schizophrenia. Epidemiologists combing through provincial health records found that, overall, those with mental health conditions seemed to have an elevated risk of a heat-related death. That was most severe for people with schizophrenia--a 200% increase compared with typical summers. "Those are really large numbers and …
Language: en |