# Temperature extremes contribute to suicide-related help-seeking through multiple pathways: Evidence from crisis hotline data (2019–2023)

## TL;DR

This study finds that extreme nighttime temperatures are linked to increased suicide-related help-seeking behavior, likely due to sleep disruption, social isolation, and unmet basic needs.

## Contribution

The study is the first to use crisis hotline data to explore how temperature extremes affect suicide risk through multiple behavioral and social pathways.

## Key findings

- Suicide-related help-seeking increased by 19% at the 90th percentile of nighttime temperatures and by 166% at the 99th percentile.
- Sleep difficulties, expressed intent to die, and availability of lethal means increased significantly with extreme heat.
- Cold temperatures were associated with increased sleep-related crises, while hot temperatures were linked to mental health and basic needs crises.

## Abstract

This study investigated how nighttime temperatures influence suicidal help-seeking behavior via theorized pathways: sleep disruption, impulsivity, social isolation, and unmet basic needs. We analyzed 11,684 suicide hotline risk assessments (Louisiana, USA). Distributed lag nonlinear models quantified temperature associations with standardized suicide risk factors during minimum temperature extremes (≤10th, ≥ 90th percentiles). Natural language processing on counselor notes identified help-seeking crisis contexts; generalized additive models examine associations between crisis contexts and temperature exposure. Stratified demographic analyses provide exploratory insights into mechanistic pathways across populations. Suicide-related help-seeking increased dramatically with rising nighttime temperatures: 19% at the 90th percentile (PR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.10-1.29), 55% at the 95th percentile (PR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.44-1.68), and 166% at the 99th percentile (PR = 2.66, 95% CI: 2.42-2.92); an estimated absolute increase of 19 suicide calls per 100 crisis calls in the two days following hot nights. These increases were accompanied by sleep difficulties (+146% at 99th percentile), expressed intent to die (+163% at 99th percentile), availability of lethal means (+145% at 99th percentile), and few future plans (+224% at 99th percentile). Crises related to mental health (+20.9%) and basic needs (+59.9%) increased at the 90th percentile; sleep was more prevalent at cold temperatures (+68.1% at 10th; -31.9% at 90th). Youth, women, and Black clients were associated with mental health mentions at high temperatures; youth were also associated with increases in isolation. Black clients and men mentioned substance use more during high temperatures. Temperature extremes exacerbate suicide risk pathways, notably sleep disruption, substance use and impulsivity, essential needs stress, and social isolation. Results are most applicable to other humid subtropical climates with similar sociodemographics and should be interpreted as exploratory due to high demographic missingness. Findings inform proactive interventions, such as temperature-triggered staffing protocols and integration of basic needs support into suicide prevention during extreme weather events.