Impacts of Extreme Weather Events on Mental Health & Well-Being – Key Findings from a Global ‘Scoping’ Literature Review
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<p>Available evidence indicates Extreme Weather Event (EWE) frequency has increased significantly in the last &#8275; 70 years along a 0.5&#176;C global temperature rise. As such, a major concern arising from global warming projections are the potential impacts of increasingly frequent and intense EWEs on public health and societal well-being. The substantial toll of EWEs on socio-economic and physical health is well understood. Yet, due to a range of methodological impediments, the impact EWEs on psychological health and well-being remain less certain. Within this context, this literature review aimed to provide an &#8220;empirical&#8221; baseline of the psychological and well-being impacts of individuals exclusively exposed to EWEs. Given the wide range of psychological and well-being metrics available in the literature, the review was grounded on a &#8216;holistic&#8217; approach with the all-encompassing concept of &#8220;psychological impairment&#8221; adopted. Here, impairment data, or morbidity, was pooled at the level of key Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) psychological &#8220;Domains&#8221;, including PTSD, Anxiety and Depression. Morbidity data was also pooled at a &#8220;composite&#8221; (any impairment) category encompassing all employed DSM-based domains. Further, reported risk factors (<em>p</em> < 0.05) and pooled odds ratios (pOR) were extracted and calculated from each pertinent study. Overall, 59 peer-reviewed investigations accounting for 61,443 EWE-exposed individuals comprised the review dataset. A &#8220;composite&#8221; post-exposure pooled-prevalence rate of 23% was estimated along with values of 24% for depression and &#8275; 17% for both PTSD and anxiety. Notably, estimated pOR (1.9) indicate a > 90% likelihood of a negative psychological outcome or impaired well-being among exposed individuals. Methodologically, a prevalent lack of integration of &#8220;control&#8221; criterion among reviewed investigations was identified. In this context, pooled data collated can be considered more akin to &#8220;prevalence&#8221; rates rather than a finite metric of &#8220;incidence&#8221; linking EWE exposure and outcomes. Collation of reported risk factors indicate more pronounced impacts among individuals with higher levels of EWE exposure (14.5%) and socio-demographic traits which are often associated with vulnerable population sub-groups, including female gender (10%), lower socio-economic status (5.5%), and a lower education level (5.2%). Regionally, Asia exhibited the highest impairment rates which is tentatively attributed to a combination of high EWE frequency and population density. The findings of this study provide a quantitative evidence base which can be used to inform public health intervention strategies focusing on exposed populations in the aftermath of EWEs.</p>
