The Impact of Foehn Wind on Mental Distress among Patients in a Swiss Psychiatric Hospital

Christian A. Mikutta, Charlotte Pervilhac, Hansjörg Znoj, Andrea Federspiel and Thomas J. Müller ()
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Christian A. Mikutta: Private Clinic Meiringen, 3860 Meiringen, Switzerland
Charlotte Pervilhac: Private Clinic Meiringen, 3860 Meiringen, Switzerland
Hansjörg Znoj: Institute of Psychology, Department of Health Psychology and Behavioural Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Andrea Federspiel: Private Clinic Meiringen, 3860 Meiringen, Switzerland
Thomas J. Müller: Private Clinic Meiringen, 3860 Meiringen, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-11

Abstract: Psychiatric patients are particularly vulnerable to strong weather stimuli, such as foehn, a hot wind that occurs in the alps. However, there is a dearth of research regarding its impact on mental health. This study investigated the impact of foehn wind among patients of a psychiatric hospital located in a foehn area in the Swiss Alps. Analysis was based on anonymized datasets obtained from routine records on admission and discharge, including the Brief Symptom Checklist (BSCL) questionnaire, as well as sociodemographic parameters (age, sex, and diagnosis). Between 2013 and 2020, a total of 10,456 admission days and 10,575 discharge days were recorded. All meteorological data were extracted from the database of the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology of Switzerland. We estimated the effect of foehn on the BSCL items using a distributed lag model. Significant differences were found between foehn and non-foehn admissions in obsession–compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and general severity index (GSI) ( p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that foehn wind events may negatively affect specific mental health parameters in patients. More research is needed to fully understand the impact of foehn’s events on mental health.

Keywords: foehn wind; psychopathology; BSCL; mental health; weather; meteorological factors; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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