As temperatures rise this summer, so does the risk of suicide for older Australian men, research shows.
Around 0.5%, or approximately 260 suicide deaths in Australia over a two-decade period correlated with unusually higher temperatures caused by climate change, according to new Curtin University researchers.
The increased risk was observed among men aged 55 and above, particularly during hotter months.
The research found heat anomalies during the study period were between 0.02 °C to 2.2 °C degrees hotter than the historical period across Australia.
“Analysing the differences in data from 2000 to 2019, compared to the previous five decades, there’s evidence of increased suicide risk in older Australian males during high heat anomalies associated with climate change,” said lead researcher Dr Lucas Hertzog from Curtin University.
“Specifically, about 0.5% of the 50,733 suicides during this period were related to these heat anomalies.”
The findings suggested public health strategies to address the mental health impacts of climate change may be needed if the results are replicated in other studies, Dr Hertzog said.
“Future studies should investigate whether and how global warming affects mental health and suicide, especially considering the widespread effects of climate change on both nature and human societies.”
The study underscored the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies in government planning, said senior author Dr Ivan Hanigan, Director of Curtin’s World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Health Impact Assessment.
“This includes creating support systems and services to help people cope with extreme heat, which is becoming more frequent and intense due to global warming.”
This research was designed as a population-level analysis and did not delve into individual-level variables such as socioeconomic status, personal mental health history, access to services, or the contexts of each individual.
“Hence, this study does not definitively show that temperature anomalies cause an increase in suicide rates,” said Dr Hanigan.
“Rather, our findings highlight the importance of considering environmental factors, alongside individual-level factors, in public health strategies and suicide prevention efforts.”
The study was supported by funding from the Healthy Environments and Lives Network, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change, and the Australian Research Data Commons Air Health Data Bridges project.
The full research paper, ‘Suicide Deaths Associated with Climate Change-Induced Heat Anomalies in Australia: A Time-Series Regression Analysis’, was published in the journal BMJ Mental Health and can be found online here.
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