Susceptibility of persons with schizophrenia to extreme heat: A critical review of physiological, behavioural, and social factors.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Critical narrative review synthesizing physiological, behavioural, and social factors without meta-analysis
PubMed 40714605 · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179965
What was done
The authors conducted a critical review analyzing physiological, behavioural, and social factors that influence susceptibility to extreme heat in persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.
What was found
The review references prior findings that schizophrenia is associated with a >2-fold all-cause mortality risk, a 13- to 15-year reduction in life expectancy, and a 3-fold increase in the odds of mortality during the 2021 Western North America Heat Dome in British Columbia, Canada (higher than risks for diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease). The abstract reports that physiological impairments, medication-related thermoregulatory disruption, behavioural responses, and community-level factors interact to drive heat vulnerability, though the abstract itself provides no new pooled statistical estimates.
Why it matters
Persons with schizophrenia experience disproportionately higher mortality during extreme heat events compared to individuals with other chronic conditions. Clarifying these combined mechanisms is necessary to design targeted heat-health warning systems and community adaptation policies.
Limits
As a critical review, the abstract details no systematic search strategy, screening criteria, or study counts. No primary data or meta-analytic effect sizes were generated, and the isolated versus combined impact of specific determinants remains largely unresolved.
Cited by
- supports Patients with schizophrenia exhibit impaired thermoregulation.