REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1630975
This article is part of the Research TopicEnvironment and Healthcare, a two-way traffic: Challenges, Impacts, and Sustainable SolutionsView all 5 articles
Neurological and Mental Health in the Era of Climate Change: Mechanisms, Clinical Impacts, and Adaptation
Provisionally accepted
- 1NeurALL Research Group, Quito, Ecuador
- 2University of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador
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Climate change has become a global health emergency in recent decades, with far-reaching effects on neurological and psychiatric health; however, their relationship remains poorly understood. Climate-related phenomena impact neurological and mental health through both direct and indirect mechanisms, including progressive temperature changes and more frequent extreme weather events. This has influenced the prevalence and geographic distribution of neurological disorders, affecting the public health landscape of these diseases. The primary mechanisms include thermal stress, neuroinflammation due to air pollution, ecological shifts that increase exposure to neurotropic infections, psychological stress, and disruptions to healthcare systems. These factors interact and amplify the risk of neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory, cerebrovascular, neuroinfectious, and psychiatric conditions. The aim of this study was to synthesize evidence from peer-reviewed studies in major databases on the impact of climate change–related factors in the incidence, severity, and distribution of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Addressing the effect of climate change on these diseases requires improved healthcare strategies, scientific research, and climate change mitigation to protect brain health and reduce neurological disease burden.
Keywords: Climate Change, Public Health, neurological & neurodevelopmental diseases, psychiatric disease, Mental Health, environmentalhealth
Received: 19 May 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Martínez Lozada and Leon-Rojas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jose Eduardo Leon-Rojas, University of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador
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