NEW SOUTH WALES — A new study from the University of Sydney found that extreme high temperatures double the risk of mental health-related hospital admissions for young people up to age 24 in New South Wales. The research examined over 720,000 hospital admissions between 2001 and 2022.

During warmer months, defined as October to March, the study observed this doubling of risk. The risk of mental health hospital admission for young people triples during cooler months when daily average temperatures are in the highest 1% for that day. The hospital admissions analyzed included diagnoses such as schizophrenia, depression, substance misuse, eating disorders, and self-harm.

Dr. Wen-Qiang He, the lead author of the research at the University of Sydney, said, "We found that as temperatures increase, we see admissions for these younger populations increase significantly." He added, "The risk doubles in the warm season and triples in the cold season." He said, "That's important for us to know and if we can let the community know what's happening, then we can prepare and help our children and young people."

Dr. Cybele Dey, an adolescent psychiatrist in Sydney and a co-author of the research, observed little lag between temperature spikes and hospital admissions. "These are not mild presentations," Dey said. She added, "There has to be a lot going wrong for a person to be admitted." Dey also said, "Climate change is already impacting children and young people's mental health in multiple ways." She added in a podcast interview, "This is not the first study to show a link between unusually warm temperatures and children being admitted to hospital with mental disorders."

The study projects that heat-related hospital admissions for young people will increase by 6% to 7.7% by the end of the century. Dr. Hasini Gunasiri, a research fellow at Orygen, a youth mental health research institute based in Melbourne, commented on the findings. Gunasiri, who was not involved in the research, said, "These findings suggest that mental health should also be considered when planning for extreme temperatures, especially for children and young people." The National Climate Risk Assessment, released last year, also linked extreme heat to higher rates of suicide and mental health-related hospital admissions.