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

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.

Characteristics and Establishment of Objective Identification Criteria and Predictors for Foehn Winds in Urumqi, China

“…Foehn occurs in many mountainous areas of the world, such as the Alps in Europe, the Rocky Mountains in America, and the Caucasus Mountains on the border of Russia and Georgia. Between Bogda Mountain and Tianger Mountain on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in China, i.e., in the canyon area near Urumqi, the large topographical difference often incurs foehn (southeast winds) to this region, and the most known is the foehn wind blowing from Dabancheng to Urumqi [13][14][15][16].…”

Characteristics and Establishment of Objective Identification Standard and Perdictor of Foehn Winds in Urumqi on the North Slope of Middle Tianshan Mountains of China

“…Between Bogda Mountain and Tianger Mountain on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in China (i.e., in the Valley area near Urumqi), due to the large topographical difference, the area has experienced foehn (southeast winds). Especially, the foehn from Dabancheng to Urumqi is the most famous [13][14][15].…”