Climate Change as a Chronic Stressor: Biological and Psychological Pathways Linking Environmental Change to Human Well-Being.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Neuroscience, Head-Neck and Chest, Section of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
- 2Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
- 3Unit of Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ospedale Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, 00186 Rome, Italy.
- 4Spine Surgery Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy.
- 5Department of Translational Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.
- 6Unit of Internal Medicine, Cristo Re Hospital, 00167 Rome, Italy.
Abstract
Climate-related hazards are associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes, but exposure-specific human findings are often discussed together with general stress mechanisms without clearly distinguishing their evidentiary strength. This narrative review addresses that gap by examining climate change as a context for recurrent thermal, disaster-related, and psychosocial stress, rather than as a single measurable exposure. Evidence is organized around three interacting biological domains: neuroendocrine regulation, inflammation and oxidative stress, and neuroplasticity. Human observational studies support associations between heat, extreme events, and mental health outcomes; short-term human experiments and animal models provide mechanistic insights but do not establish a chronic biological mediation pathway from climate change to psychiatric illness. Indirect pathways include displacement, livelihood disruption, loss, and anticipatory distress. Air pollution is treated as an interacting exposure with both climate-related and independent determinants. Eco-anxiety, climate anxiety, eco-distress, and ecological grief are distinguished from diagnosable disorders, with clinical relevance assessed through functional impairment and individual context. The review's contribution is an evidence-qualified framework linking exposure timing, biological plausibility, psychosocial appraisal, and unequal adaptive capacity. Practical implications include contextual mental health assessment, continuity of psychiatric care during heat and disasters, and incorporation of psychosocial support into adaptation planning. The proposed framework remains hypothesis-generating and requires prospective testing with repeated exposure, biomarker, and clinical assessments.
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BibTeX
@article{marano2026climate,
title = {{Climate Change as a Chronic Stressor: Biological and Psychological Pathways Linking Environmental Change to Human Well-Being.}},
author = {Giuseppe Marano and Camilla Scialpi and Antonio Sottile and Oksana Di Giacomi and Marco Lanzetta and Gianandrea Traversi and Osvaldo Mazza and Esmeralda Capristo and Eleonora Gaetani and Marianna Mazza},
journal = {Life (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/life16101763},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42942349},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Climate Change as a Chronic Stressor: Biological and Psychological Pathways Linking Environmental Change to Human Well-Being.
AU - Giuseppe Marano
AU - Camilla Scialpi
AU - Antonio Sottile
AU - Oksana Di Giacomi
AU - Marco Lanzetta
AU - Gianandrea Traversi
AU - Osvaldo Mazza
AU - Esmeralda Capristo
AU - Eleonora Gaetani
AU - Marianna Mazza
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Life (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/life16101763
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42942349
AB - Climate-related hazards are associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes, but exposure-specific human findings are often discussed together with general stress mechanisms without clearly distinguishing their evidentiary strength. This narrative review addresses that gap by examining climate change as a context for recurrent thermal, disaster-related, and psychosocial stress, rather than as a single measurable exposure. Evidence is organized around three interacting biological domains: neuroendocrine regulation, inflammation and oxidative stress, and neuroplasticity. Human observational studies support associations between heat, extreme events, and mental health outcomes; short-term human experiments and animal models provide mechanistic insights but do not establish a chronic biological mediation pathway from climate change to psychiatric illness. Indirect pathways include displacement, livelihood disruption, loss, and anticipatory distress. Air pollution is treated as an interacting exposure with both climate-related and independent determinants. Eco-anxiety, climate anxiety, eco-distress, and ecological grief are distinguished from diagnosable disorders, with clinical relevance assessed through functional impairment and individual context. The review's contribution is an evidence-qualified framework linking exposure timing, biological plausibility, psychosocial appraisal, and unequal adaptive capacity. Practical implications include contextual mental health assessment, continuity of psychiatric care during heat and disasters, and incorporation of psychosocial support into adaptation planning. The proposed framework remains hypothesis-generating and requires prospective testing with repeated exposure, biomarker, and clinical assessments.
SN - 2075-1729
ER -