NEW YORK, April 10 — Extreme weather events such as hurricanes can leave traces in our brains... even before birth! Scientific research over the last 15 years demonstrates this phenomenon.
Studies have shown that the climate crisis can trigger anxiety and even episodes of depression. But the stress caused by the occurrence of extreme climate events, which are constantly increasing, could impact the mental health of individuals in other ways, and, in particular, be the cause of neurological disorders. That’s what has been emerging from the research of Yoko Nomura, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Queens College and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, over the past 15 years. Working on the topic of prenatal stress since 2009, the New York-based researcher decided to take her work in a new direction when one of the most devastating hurricanes in history hit the eastern seaboard of the USA. It was October 2012, and this climate disaster is now known as “Superstorm Sandy.”
Of the women in the female cohort studied by Yoko Nomura, 690 were pregnant. The researcher then came up with the idea of including the occurrence of this hurricane in the list of criteria for stressful events (on the same level as a divorce or job loss). The aim was to understand how environmental stressors can alter gene expression and influence the risk of specific neurobehavioral disorders in children, such as autism, schizophrenia or attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD). Yoko Nomura therefore investigated whether the prenatal stress of living through an extreme climatic event could have consequences for the brains of unborn children, compared to those conceived before or after Superstorm Sandy.
Higher risk of anxiety, depression and ADHD
And it turned out that her hypothesis was right, since the results of her study suggested that children exposed in utero to the hurricane are now at greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders. In particular, girls who were exposed to Sandy prenatally experienced a 20-fold increase in anxiety and a 30-fold increase in depression later in life, compared to those who were not exposed. The boys had 60-fold and 20-fold increased risks of ADHD and conduct disorder, according to the study, originally published in 2017 and updated in 2022, with annual follow-up on children conceived during Superstorm Sandy, aged 3 on average. “More attention is needed to understand specific parent, child, and environmental factors which account for this increased risk, and to develop mitigation strategies,” wrote Yoko Nomura’s team.
The researcher’s work isn’t alone in indicating a link between extreme climate events and mental health consequences. An American study published in February 2024 showed that forest fires were associated with a 6.3 per cent increase in emergency room visits for severe anxiety disorders, particularly among women and the elderly. In September 2023, another study (also carried out in the USA) revealed that temperature rises caused by climate disruption could have led to an increase in hospital visits linked to alcohol and drug consumption. — ETX Studio
