A nine-year analysis across England found that everyday weather patterns were associated with changes in mental health-related healthcare use, according to a study published on July 3. The research, conducted from 2014 to 2022, aimed to determine whether daily weather conditions influenced the frequency of unscheduled mental health–related healthcare visits.
The study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, examined over 4.6 million contacts recorded through NHS 111, emergency departments (EDs), and general practice out-of-hours (GP OOH) services. NHS 111 accounted for the largest number of contacts, with most involving adults aged 15–44 years and slightly more among females. Researchers used national syndromic surveillance data managed by the UK Health Security Agency and incorporated daily temperature and rainfall data from HadUK-Grid as well as sunshine hours from Met Office MIDAS.
Findings showed that temperature had modest but non-linear associations with healthcare use. NHS 111 calls and ED attendances increased gradually as temperatures rose up to about 18°C before leveling off or declining at higher temperatures. GP OOH contacts showed little relationship with temperature overall. Mental health-related contacts varied by approximately 17% to 20% between the lowest and highest estimated risks across different weather conditions.
Sunshine emerged as the most consistent factor affecting mental health-related service use across all three types of healthcare services studied. Days with fewer hours of sunshine were linked to an increase in such contacts, particularly when sunshine was at its lowest levels. Reduced sunshine was specifically associated with more GP OOH and ED visits for anxiety and depression. These patterns remained consistent across demographic groups and regions; however, rainfall did not show a consistent relationship with mental health-related healthcare use regardless of age or condition.
The authors clarified that their findings reflect changes in healthcare-seeking behavior rather than confirmed psychiatric diagnoses: “the findings do not indicate that weather changes the underlying incidence or prevalence of mental illness,” according to the authors.
Researchers concluded that understanding these patterns could help public health officials anticipate fluctuations in demand for mental health services.
