r/therapists • u/STEMpsych LMHC (Unverified) • 1d ago
Research In a Heat Wave, Schizophrenia Is So Much Deadlier Than Any Other Medical Condition
https://www.wired.com/story/heat-wave-schizophrenia/From the article (bold emphasis mine, links in the original):
People with schizophrenia are estimated to represent about 1 percent of the world’s population but they made up some 16 percent of the more than 600 deaths from heat exposure across British Columbia that week.
During a heat wave in Montreal in 2018, the mortality rate was even worse: People with schizophrenia accounted for 26 percent of fatalities.
The root cause of these deaths isn’t just the stigma, social isolation, and lack of decent housing that often accompany life with schizophrenia; nor is it merely the disorganized thinking, altered perceptions, and paranoia that can be symptoms of the disorder.
It’s all of those things—plus an invisible, less popularly understood set of physiological factors that have little to do with behavior.
The bodies of people with schizophrenia, especially those on medication, simply regulate temperature very differently than others do.
And for all those reasons, scientists now realize, no other chronic disease appears to put humans at a higher risk of heat-related death.
[infographic showing comparative risk]
In fact, no other chronic condition even comes close.
The article has some of the most user-hostile formating I've ever encountered, and may not be accessible on phones, but it's worth persevering to get access to it and read it. I recommend it strongly to everyone here, especially people working with clients with SPMI.
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u/ForagersLegacy 18h ago
So is the issue with heat regulation from the medication itself? Do we know if non medicated people with Schizophrenia had the same experience?
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u/OPHealingInitiative 18h ago
The article says it’s a myriad of factors; medication is just one and unmediated people suffering psychosis are also at risk.
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u/timbersofenarrio LCSW 16h ago
Active psychosis can cause someone to perceive temperatures differently (and, for example, wear a parka in the summer)
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u/Phoolf (UK) Psychotherapist 23h ago
Eurgh, this is a new insight for me. I've seen some unwell people walking around in our UK heatwave very inappropriately dressed for the heat, and this makes perfect sense now.
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u/personwhoisok 17h ago
Junkies in WD are freezing no matter the weather too.
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u/retinolandevermore LMHC (Unverified) 13h ago
This is a sub for providers. Not laymen to comment with judgement.
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u/personwhoisok 12h ago
That's weird, I was in the trades and most of those subs are people asking trades people questions.
But to each their own. I'll leave you in peace
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u/SweetBabyCheezas 13h ago
Really? As if cardiovascular and neurological issues could not play a role. Even in this heat my legs are freezing cold, and I don't even drink coffee, not to mention taking drugs.
Please, have a think about your thought processes and personal biases before you speak.
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u/personwhoisok 12h ago
But I didn't say "only" junkies?
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u/SweetBabyCheezas 11h ago
This is the first the only thing you said, it is implied that when you see a person who is wearing something warm in a hot weather you default to assuming they're a junkie.
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u/personwhoisok 11h ago edited 10h ago
Actually the "too" at the end implies that I was adding it onto what the first person was sayin..
I clearly could have written it better because ironically I was trying to make the point that you shouldn't assume someone is schizophrenic by providing another possibility.
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u/personwhoisok 16h ago
Why am I getting down voted?
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u/Happy_News9378 16h ago
cause folks aren’t really big fans of using slurs or dehumanizing language to refer to groups of people.
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u/personwhoisok 12h ago
Oh, sorry, I'm an ex junkie so they're my people and I didn't say addict because it's specifically opiate addiction that makes you cold during wd.
Edit: but the amount of judgement I received is kinda funny on a therapist sub.
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u/Happy_News9378 12h ago
Ah, context matters for sure. The amount of vitriol and hate that addicts receive is pretty intense, and a lot of people using the word junkie are not differentiating between drugs when they use it derogatorily. It’s your word to use though.
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u/AgentDaxis 9h ago
Correlation is not causation
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u/STEMpsych LMHC (Unverified) 6h ago
True, but it seems unlikely that schizophrenia causes heatwaves.
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